


Down by the rice fields

by seafoamist



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe, Aomine Daiki & Kagami Taiga Friendship, Eventual Romance, Falling In Love, First Love, Friendship, Japanese Culture, Kagami lives in America, Kuroko lives in Japan, M/M, Pro Basketball Player Kagami Taiga, Ricefields, Slice of Life, farming
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2020-11-28 09:23:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 36,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20964212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seafoamist/pseuds/seafoamist
Summary: Kagami Taiga is on the verge of having his dreams come true. Being picked for the NBA draft is more than he could have dreamed of! With the draft roughly four months away, he's determined to get in as much training and playing as humanly possible! Except, his father and Alex have decided it's time for him to take a break - for two months!?Taiga begrudgingly decides to travel back to his homeland Japan to visit his grandparents, who live in a remote village within the foreign country. There, he meets Kuroko Tetsuya, a boy who claims to love basketball just as fiercely as Taiga does - even though there's not a single basketball court in Kamikatsu. Over the next two months, Taiga gets to know who Kuroko really is as a person, and he discovers more about himself than he'd ever thought possible. A story about how our dreams can lead us down paths we never even imagined for ourselves.





	1. From L.A. to Kamikatsu

**Author's Note:**

> So...I know it says pro, but Kagami isn't a pro player professionally - he's a pro university player, so hope that clears that tag up! Tagging is honestly the hardest part for me when posting a fic lol xD even harder than writing a summary or, you know...actually writing :D 
> 
> My apologies for any inaccuracies within this fic as well. I do my best to research as much as I can, but there will be some aspects that I change purely for the purpose of this fic - and to make it easier to write ^^" if you ever have any information that might help me/correct me, please do share! (Oh yeah, and I will interchange between using "Kagami" and "Taiga" when referring to our ace, so I hope this doesn't bother you too much - consistency? Pfft, never heard of it xD)
> 
> Alright, I think that's it! I think I rambled enough! Thanks for clicking on this story and I hope you enjoy this first chapter! x

“I don’t need a break! I’m fine!” yelled Kagami, placing his mouth closer than usual to the receiver. 

“Yeah, and I’m a regular B cup,” Alex drawled, and Kagami felt that tick of irritation near his temple whenever he had to deal with her.

He had been recently selected as part of this year’s NBA draft, and he was beyond stoked at the golden opportunity. He hated going to his university classes, but it was thanks to him playing on the university basketball team that he was able to be selected for this amazing event. 

Taiga (and that bastard Aomine, because of fucking course he would get in too) would participate in the draft at the end of June. It was the end of February right now, so he was under the pump to get in as much training, practice games, and real games to improve himself even further. Getting drafted by the NBA would be the biggest achievement of his life if he could do it. He had to be better at basketball than he ever had been for that to happen! 

But Alex, his long-standing personal coach and mentor in all things basketball, was telling him that he’d been granted two months’ vacation and didn’t have to attend any of his university team’s games or classes. Honestly, what the hell was she thinking? Now was not the time for Taiga to relax! 

“Things are just getting started! I’m just about to start this training camp with the guys at uni, and it’s all I need right now,” he protested heatedly, his temper rising at the idea he was being forced away from his basketball. 

He could sense Alex’s glare even through the phone, “What you need is a good, hard reality check.”

Snapping his mouth shut, Kagami struggled for a comeback but gave up when nothing that wasn’t a straight up insult came to mind. Alex sighed, not loud and obnoxious as she usually did. It was quiet and out of breath, and Kagami felt a sliver of guilt that he may be the cause of it. 

“You’ve been playing recklessly lately. I thought that I could overlook it since I know how much this means to you, but verbally abusing your teammates and hogging the ball is not acceptable,” Alex tells him, her tone admonishing and disappointed, “look, you’re not getting out of this. I’ve already cleared everything with your university, and you’ve got at least two months to get yourself together. And you’re lucky, I’ve given you one month before the draft begins where you can train as crazily as you like.”

“What am I supposed to do for two months with no basketball!? This is what I’ve been waiting for!” He ran a hand through his hair harshly, agitated. 

Alex paused, and softened her tone as she continued, “I’m sorry, Taiga. Believe me when I say, it’s for your own good.”

Kagami was pissed. He was beyond pissed. And to make matters worse, his dad was apparently in agreeance with this bullshit. When he’d called his father in the hope of getting some support, all he’d received in return was a nicer version of Alex’s words.

“I don’t have time to waste here, dad. Two months is too long,” he complained, and yeah, he complained! He had the right to! _God,_ he’s just trying to sort out his future – why were his dad and Alex getting so uptight about it? Maybe he was pushing his teammates too hard, maybe his temper was a little worse these days, but he’d figured it wasn’t _that_ bad. Nothing to make him stop basketball for.

“I don’t know what you want me to do, Taiga. Alex is the one in charge of your schedule, and I think she’s made the right call,” his dad answers objectively, which causes Taiga to groan exceptionally loudly through the receiver and slam his cupboard doors closed as he started his preparations for dinner.

His dad softens his tone, tries to be more understanding when he speaks again, “You’re acting too rash, son. When you play, I can see you’re into it. You always are. But there’s something missing in your eye now. Like it’s more of a necessity for you, rather than the sport you love with all your heart.”

“I’m fine, it’s nothing,” Kagami dismisses, not liking the uncomfortable, niggling thought that maybe that was sort of true. The pressure had definitely heightened, but that was to be expected with the high stakes of getting accepted into the NBA draft.

“It’s not nothing, especially getting slammed as the player on your team with the most landed fouls and substitutions this past season. Come on, Taiga, this isn’t you,” his father argues, and Kagami felt angry embarrassment at remembering that fact. He was never, ever trying to hurt anyone when he played basketball – it was just lately he had gotten a little more aggressive, but he was working on it! Or at least he thought he was.

Kagami sighed harshly, dumping the vegetables he’d peeled earlier under cold water, “What am I supposed to do, then!?”

“You need to clear your head. Take a holiday.”

“Where? I’ve been to pretty much every beach there is in the US by now–”

“What about making a trip to Japan?” His dad suggested, and Taiga couldn’t suppress his groan.

_Every time._ This was why he didn’t call his dad when he was on break, because something like this would inevitably spill out of his mouth. It wasn’t as if Taiga hated his homeland, he just didn’t have a connection to it. Patchy memories from his childhood of him running around in the cherry blossoms, and stomping around in the crystal, white snow, was about all he could drum up. The faces of his grandparents drifted in and out of his mind, and he could vaguely recall a house only just bigger than his apartment in LA.

“Dad, please,” Taiga didn’t need to hear his dad give his usual spiel about how important it was to remember his roots – he basically had it memorised by now.

But his dad is just as stubborn as he is, and keeps trying to sell the idea to him, “Your grandparents would love to see you again. It’s been so many years, and they aren’t getting younger you know.”

Of course, his dad played the guilt card so well. Then again, he was fairly certain every parent was a master at using that card.

“If you have all this free time on your hands, then why not?”

There’s a pause in which Kagami ponders on the last time he went overseas. It was maybe what, 4, 5 years ago? He’d still been in high school at the time and had travelled with his graduating year over to Canada for a two-week trip. Since then, he’d kind of just stuck to travelling around America, visiting beaches during the summer and travelling all over for training camps with his university team. 

But, Kagami doesn’t want to commit anything, so he gives a sigh of defeat and leaves his father with a non-committal, “I’ll think about it.”

*

Kagami did think about it. He could stay here in L.A., but with all the temptation surrounding him, would it only make him feel worse and cause the time to stretch on even longer? Not to mention he’d have Aomine bugging him to sneak out so they could play one-on-one, and he honestly wasn’t willing to risk Alex’s wrath and threat to extend his vacation by an extra month to satisfy that idiot.

And if he got drafted by the NBA, then he’d be full on with training and playing for who knows how long. Maybe taking one last trip overseas for himself would be a good way to spend these two months. Then, he could focus entirely on making it into the draft with nothing holding him back.

When he told his father about it, he couldn’t hide his delight. He’d emailed Taiga a bunch of links about where his grandparents lived, the cheapest flights available at the moment, and general information about the place. Even though his dad could get on his nerves sometimes, he was grateful how he was always there for him, even to find him cheap airfare.

His grandparents lived in a small village located in Tokushima Prefecture, apparently in the Katsuura District. 

“Kamikatsu, huh?” Taiga said aloud, sitting in front of his laptop and scrolling through pages of information about the place.

And once he did all that, he immediately picked up the phone to start whining to the one person who could whine more than Taiga – Aomine Daiki.

“There’s only like a thousand people living there. And it’s covered in forest and mountains,” Kagami explained, groaning over the phone while staring at the very limited Wikipedia page. His hopes of a basketball court being there were growing slimmer the more he read on. 

Laughter crackled over the phone, “Oh, man. This shit’s too funny,” Aomine probably wasn’t the best person he could have called, in hindsight.

But it was sort of an unspoken deal they had – they could bitch to each other as much as they like about anything if they were pissed enough about it and nobody else would listen to them. And it was given fact that Aomine bitched a hell of a lot more than Taiga did, so that bastard really had the better end of the deal.

“I’ll be lucky to find a hard surface at all, let alone a court. Fuck, why is this happening?” Kagami drags a hand down his face, scrolling through pictures of the mountainous, green village.

“I’m sure there’ll be a wooden floor you can dribble on,” Aomine chokes through his laughter, and Kagami growls but doesn’t rise to the bait.

“It’s also got a ‘zero waste’ reputation,” he reads aloud, and Aomine hums agreeably.

“Oh yeah, I remember hearing about that back in school. That place that divides up all their garbage and shit.”

“34 different categories for recycling!?” Kagami blurts in outrage, his eyes as round as saucers and Aomine is sent off laughing again.

At first, Aomine had been pissed that Taiga had been leaving – after all, they both got better when they played with or against each other. But, when he heard he’d be back for a month before the draft began, his care level had dropped to an all time, big fat zero. Now, he was openly taunting Taiga about it, and he was just about ready to hang up on the bastard.

“You’ve got a world of fun ahead of you, Bakagami!” Aomine guffaws obnoxiously, and Taiga swears at him before jabbing the red phone button with his finger, effectively ending the call.

So, he was clearly on his own for this. He’d certainly have his work cut out for him, but Kagami would still bring all his basketball gear with him anyway. If there was even a small chance he could get in some training while he was over there, then he’d be ready for it.

*

His father and Alex accompanied him to the airport a week later. He was just about to go line up and was saying his farewells to both of them.

“I’m gonna miss you lots! Make sure you stay in touch and don’t get all sulky, okay?” Alex says, hands on her hips like the mother hen that she was, and Kagami rolls his eyes, “Japan is such a beautiful country, so you should make the most of every second!”

“I get it, I get it! I’ll try and enjoy myself, alright? But, I’m not gonna forget about basketball either!” Kagami won’t budge on that, no matter how much she nags him. But she seems appeased by his response, nodding at him approvingly.

“Now that’s what I like to hear! Remember, relax! It’s a holiday after all!” Alex chides him, then presses firm kisses to both of his cheeks. Taiga stumbles backwards, his cheeks flushing bright red as he rubbed at the spots where her lips were. Man, he could never get used to her craziness! At least she didn’t kiss him on the lips this time, she was probably showing a bit of modesty because his dad was here.

“Look after yourself, son,” his dad steps in closer to him, one of his hands squeezing Taiga’s shoulder warmly, “say hello to your grandparents for me, and I hope you have a nice time staying with him. They’ll be there to pick you up after your second flight lands in . Let me know when you’re there as soon as you have service.”

“I will, dad. Thanks,” Kagami nods, then leans down to give him a hug. It was still kind of weird being taller than his father – but it wasn’t by much. He waved goodbye to them both, then turned and headed towards the terminal for boarding.

Flying was never really fun for Kagami, but not because he had a fear of flying or anything like that. It was mostly because he was too tall for the economy class seats, but they were the only seats he could afford. His dad offered to help pay to upgrade him to first class, but Kagami always declined. His dad spent enough on him as it was for all his basketball stuff, and he didn’t want to make him pay up just for Kagami’s own comfort. It was only for a few hours, anyway.

After he got off the plane and landed in Tokyo Narita Airport about 12 hours later, Kagami had to wait another three hours before his next flight to Takamatsu boarded. He spent the time eating his way through half the menu at the airport sushi bar and charging up his laptop and phone in the waiting area. He’d gotten himself a booth all to himself, which was always a plus.

Before he knew it, the three hours had passed, and he was on the plane to Takamatsu for another hour and a half. His grandparents would be waiting there to pick him up, and it would take another 2 hours to get back to Kamikatsu. A hell of a long trip, but there was no way Taiga was turning back now. He’d made it this far, right?

Kagami tried to do the time conversion so he could figure out what time he’d be in Kamikatsu by, but he’d always been kinda shit at that. He had a vague idea that it’d probably be encroaching just on evening by the time they got back to his grandparents’ place.

When the time came for him to get off the plane, Taiga grabbed all his luggage and made his way into the crowd of people waiting for their loved ones to arrive. Truthfully, he wasn’t really good at faces, even though he knew what his grandparents looked like it would be hard to pick them out in a crowd full of Japanese people. He stood above most of them like a giant, so he hoped his grandparents would be able to spot him first.

“Taiga-chan! Over here, Taiga-chan!” A voice called out to him in Japanese (his grandmother?) and Kagami zipped his head around until he matched the voice with the woman calling to him and waving. She was standing a bit away from the crowd, with a man next to her that could be none other than his grandfather. Their faces really hadn’t changed all that much, at least in Taiga’s memory they hadn’t.

With both hands occupied holding his heavy bags, Kagami couldn’t really wave so he made sure to keep eye contact with them and nod as he made his way through the crowd. When he finally reached them, he put his bags down on the ground for a moment so he could face them properly. It wasn’t until now that he felt the nervousness of reuniting with them here. Would they like the kind of person he had grown into? Would they be able to understand his wonky Japanese? Would they-

“Come here, let me hug you!”

Taiga didn’t get the chance to worry over anything else when he felt his grandmother tugging at his wrist to pull him down to her level. He automatically bended his knees to lower himself, and she immediately wrapped her arms around him tightly. Taiga put his hands on her back, not wanting to hug her too tightly in case he hurt her, but she didn’t seem to mind.

When she pulls back after a long minute, she’s beaming up at him and holding his biceps, looking him up and down, “You have grown so big, so strong!”

“I-It’s nice to see you, grandmother.” Kagami stuttered in Japanese. Despite being fluent in the language, he had fallen out of practice and it made his speech slightly stilted. 

“You look just like your father, Taiga-chan,” and _seriously?_ His grandfather was sticking with the _Taiga-chan_ as well? It was so freakin’ embarrassing (an honorific that people used with kids), but he didn’t have it in him to tell them to stop. His grandfather then stepped forward, and Taiga repeated the same process, lowering himself down so his grandfather could hug him. Taiga noticed he carried a cane, so did his best not to lean too much on the old man and put more weight on his legs.

“Th-Thank you, grandfather,” Kagami stammered again when they parted, the formality of the Japanese language always boggling him. How formal was too formal? He didn’t know how familiar he could be with them yet, it was so hard to just know!

“How were both your flights? You must be terribly exhausted. I hope you ate well,” his grandmother says sympathetically, and Taiga nodded quickly.

“Yes, they were good. A little cramped, but I’m used to it,” he answers, and they chuckle heartily at that.

“Indeed. You must be taller than Yukihiko by now,” his grandfather mused fondly, referring to his father. These were, of course, his father’s parents. Taiga had never really gotten to know his mother’s parents – but that came hand in hand with never really knowing his mother, either. But, now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.

“The car is parked a little way away. Shall we get going now, Taiga-chan? Do you have to use the bathroom first? Or stretch your legs for a bit?” his grandmother asked him a flurry of questions, and it dawned on Taiga then that she was fussing over him. And if there was one thing Taiga was not used to, it was people treating him like he wasn’t some scary 6-foot monster of a basketball player.

His cheeks flushed at the unnecessary attention, and he bent down to pick up his bags again, “N-No, thank you. I’m okay to leave now. I had a decent break at Takamatsu, so I’m good to go.”

“Alright, let’s get going then. Traffic might be a little hectic for the first half hour, but it’ll calm down once we’re on the open road. The scenery is beautiful, so it’s not too boring a drive,” his grandfather informed him, fishing out his car keys from his jacket pocket as they all travelled over to the car. His grandparents were a little slow, naturally, but not as slow as Taiga had imagined they’d be. He felt relieved, since that indicated they lived a pretty active lifestyle.

“Will you be okay in the back seat?” his grandfather asks after Taiga secures his luggage in the boot, and his grandmother is looking at him in concern too. He feels his cheeks heat again at the attention and shakes his head in what he hopes is a polite rejection.

“That’s alright, r-really. Is it-Is it okay if I rest my leg across the other back seat for a bit?”

“Of course! As long as you’re comfortable, dear,” his grandmother smiles at him reassuringly, and they all hop in, “Oh, and I packed us a big hamper of food for the drive back, so just let me know when you are hungry. Okay, Taiga-chan?”

She looked over her shoulder at him while his grandfather started the car, and he felt embarrassed all over again, “O-Okay, I will. Thank you very much.”

The ride back To Kamikatsu was just as his grandfather described it: the scenery was breathtaking. The colour of green here was totally different to the colour green he saw in America. This was lush, and rich, and full of life.

And the air was so _clear._ Kagami was stunned. He was so used to having different smells invading his sinuses all at once, the thick undertone of pollution swelling within most American cities. This was different, it was _weird._ He vaguely missed having other scents in his nose, whereas this was very off-putting. As if he had nothing else to focus on except this clear air. 

When they arrived at his grandparents’ house, he noted how it was a traditional style Japanese house. Alex would surely be fawning over it, snapping pictures left, right and centre. Oh, Kagami was reminded of his promise to text his father once he was within service. Shooting off a message letting him know he arrived safely and was with his grandparents now, Taiga assured his father he would call later on in the evening.

“Here is your room you will be staying in, Taiga-chan,” his grandfather opened the sliding door (yes, it was really Japanese all right) to a decent-sized room with a large futon that had been covered with sheets, pillows, and lots of blankets.

“It is normally our guest room, but please make yourself at home here.”

“Thanks, it’s great,” Taiga says, meaning it, and his grandfather smiles and squeezes a hand on his shoulder in the same way his dad did.

Kagami balked later on when he saw the sheer amount of bins in the basement was unbelievable. This village really wasn’t kidding about the strict recycling policy. He spent the rest of the evening unpacking his things into his room and went to sleep early. He was so tired that he didn’t even mind the difference from sleeping in the futon compared to his big double bed back in L.A.

*

The next day, Taiga decides to explore the village, dressing in his basketball shorts and a baggy t-shirt, with his basketball in hand as well. It takes him a while to get out of the housing district, and although he pondered taking some shortcuts, he stuck to the main road for now. He had two months here, he was pretty sure he’d get more familiar with the area soon enough.

Kagami makes it to the edge of the shopping district, and still hasn’t found any sign of a basketball court. No street courts to be seen – not even a half-court used by kids. The land was so bumpy, and it would be great work out on (especially concerning his leg strength), but as for his pure basketball skills it was looking pretty grim right now. He didn’t even think to ask his grandparents about it this morning, having been preoccupied showing them pictures on his phone of places in America, his father, Alex, and even that bastard Aomine. He turns off the path people walked up and down to look at the shops, standing under a tree and spinning his basketball on his finger. _What should I do? Should I ask someone?_

Then, a soft, monotone voice speaks up beside him, “What are you doing?”

“UWOOOOOOH!” Jumping out of his skin, Kagami fumbled with his ball and dropped it, almost dropping to the ground himself.

There, standing just a few feet from him, was the shortest, strangest looking guy he’d ever seen. Wide, cerulean eyes were locked on his, with hair that matched (although, his hair was a lighter shade of blue). Not only that, but he had super pale skin, with skinny-as-a-toothpick arms and legs. Just a tiny body overall, really. He looked like the next breeze might knock him over or something. They weren’t standing close enough for Taiga to be sure, but he reckoned that this guy’s head would only come up to his chest.

“OI! Don’t just sneak up on people! You scared the crap outta me!” Kagami rebukes him, even though he’s a literal stranger to Kagami. He’d always been like that, though – he never backed down and spoke what he really thought. Taiga didn’t really know how to hold back in life.

“I’m sorry. I was here for ten minutes, though. I thought I should say something to draw your attention,” the guy apologises, offering a repentant bow to Taiga whilst defending himself in the same breath.

He raised an eyebrow at him, “Huh, you were? Ugh, nevermind. What do you want?”

“Do you like basketball?” the guy asked after a beat, completely ignoring his question. He stared at Kagami for a bit, then stared down at the ball.

Scoffing, Taiga scooped up the ball and balanced it on his hip, “I don’t _like_ basketball. It’s in my blood. Basketball makes me feel _alive._ There’s no me if there’s no basketball.”

Those blue eyes staring at him sparkled, and he asks Taiga another question, “Are you good?”

“Probably better than you.” Kagami said, not caring at all how arrogant he sounded. He was in the NBA draft for crying out loud, he was entitled to _some_ pride.

The guy doesn’t seem like the ‘easily provoked’ type (not like himself or Aomine), and he nods at Kagami’s brash words. Then, he adds his own insight, “I love basketball. Even though I have not been in a team since elementary school and high school, my enjoyment of the game has not decreased in the slightest.”

“Who are you?” asked Kagami, still wary of the wispy boy.

Said boy tilted his head, and blinked at him, “I am Kuroko Tetsuya. Nice to meet you.”

“Uhh, okay,” Kagami settles on, because he honestly doesn’t know what he’s feeling looking at this guy. Kagami didn’t know if he could say it was nice to meet him, because he was more confused than anything else. _He just appeared out of thin air!_

Kuroko doesn’t take any offence from it, instead tilting his head to the side inquisitively, “Are you Kagami-kun?”

“…Yeah?” he replied, a little hesitant. _Is this Kuroko kid a freaking psychic or something?_

“The Kagami-sans’ grandson who was coming over to visit from America?”

Kagami blinks in confusion, nodding to confirm it, “Ah. Yeah, that’s me. Kagami Taiga.”

Understanding enters Kuroko’s eyes, and he nods along knowingly, “Ah, you have arrived.”

Taiga raised an eyebrow at that. What the heck? Who even spoke like that? _This guy is way too formal, and what’s with that dead-eyed stare?_

“Don’t you have homework or something to do, kid?” Kagami decided to try and shake Kuroko off him so he could get back to looking for some area he could play ball in.

However, he seems to have said the wrong thing, because Kuroko’s eyebrows narrow in an open show of irritation, “I am not a kid. I am 23 years old.”

_“WHAT!?”_ Kagami screeched, nearly dropping his basketball again.

He was beyond surprised – he was fucking astonished. This guy was _older_ than him!? The hell was up with that!? He looked like he still belonged in high school!

Not batting an eye at Taiga’s overreaction, Kuroko’s face returns to a neutral expression, “How old are you, Kagami-kun?”

“Y-You don’t need to know!” Kagami dismissed him, hoping he might be able to pull off looking at least one or two years older than Kuroko was.

“That’s alright. Your grandparents already told me you are 22 years old. I was just being polite,” Kuroko says, and Kagami should have known his grandparents would have talked about him to other people. But how the heck could he have known they had told this little oddball about him? They never mentioned Kuroko to him!

_Great, that's just great. Everyone in this village knows about everyone’s business, I'll never be able to keep a low profile here._

“So, it seems I am older,” Kuroko muses aloud, looking up at Kagami with that damned blank face.

That makes Kagami’s temper snap, and he points rudely at Kuroko, growling at him, “Don’t get carried away! It’s only by a few months! My birthday is coming up real soon!”

The sound of a dog yapping made him jolt in place, especially since the sound of it was so close! Looking around frantically, Kagami screamed and almost fell flat on his ass when his eyes landed on the small dog sitting patiently by his feet. 

“What’s with the dog?!” He demanded, edging away from the creature as slickly as he could. The dog misinterpreted however, in his small dog brain, that Kagami was playing a game with him. It pounced close and landed on his sneakers. 

“Nigou! No!” Kuroko ordered, his clear and level voice causing the dog’s ears to prick up. 

“Come here,” he called, and the dog – _Nigou_ – pranced over to him happily. As if he hadn’t just personally attacked Kagami. 

“Why don’t you have it on a leash?” Kagami asked, slowly edging away from the weird pair. 

Kuroko blinks at him, as if he’s just said something utterly bizarre, “Nigou isn’t vicious, he is just very friendly,” and the dog yipped, jumping up into Kuroko’s arms and Kagami startled at the sudden, unpredictable movement.

“Keep it away from me!” squawked Kagami, jumping away quickly. 

Kuroko shushes his dog, waiting until he’s settled down before he speaks to Kagami again, “Do you dislike dogs?”

“I just can’t handle ‘em,” Kagami stuttered, warily keeping an eye on the deceptively innocent mess of fur in Kuroko’s arms. 

“But he’s cute,” Kuroko protested, and Kagami blanched at the disheartened tone. 

“What’s with the name, anyway?” Kagami asked reluctantly, not sure if he’d like the answer but he had to admit he was kinda curious.

“It was my grandmother’s idea. Please, look closely,” then, Kuroko lifted Nigou up, so he was closer to his face, both of them looking directly at Kagami. It was then Kagami realised what it was: it was the damn eyes! Kuroko’s big, round blue as the sky eyes were mirrored exactly on the dog. 

“Do you understand?” asked Kuroko, apparently waiting for a verbal response. 

Kagami nods, not having ever seen such a weird resemblance between an owner and their pet, “Yeah, that’s freaky. It’s like he’s your spirit animal or somethin’.”

It was silent again for a while, and Kagami just stood there awkwardly. Should he leave first? But, where the hell would he go? He was itching to play and had extra energy to spare from sitting for the past two days he’d spent travelling and sitting.

As if he had just read Kagami’s mind, Kuroko’s eyes flit back down to the basketball again, and he asks: “Are you looking for a basketball court?” 

“Why? Is there one around? Do you know where it is?” Kagami fired off one question after another, his discomfort brought on by the dog quickly forgotten in the hopes of hearing some good news. 

Shaking his head, Kuroko actually looks disappointed and down-hearted when he answers Kagami, “No. Unfortunately, there isn’t a proper basketball court located anywhere in Kamikatsu.”

“Seriously!?” Kagami shrieks, having known it was a long shot from the start, but having his hopes dashed completely made him overreact a little.

Kuroko blinks at him again, then confirms, “I’m serious.”

“Damn it! Now what am I supposed to do?” Kagami curses, dropping his head back in defeat to stare up at the sky. How could this be happening? What had he been thinking, again, when he’d agreed to come out all the way out here? Just what had convinced him to come in the first place? There was _nothing_ here!

“If Kagami-kun doesn’t mind not being able to shoot hoops,” Kuroko offers, and it sounds the slightest bit promising so Kagami’s gaze shifts from the sky back to Kuroko, “I know a place that is just like a makeshift court.”

“Really!? You do!? Great, take me there!” Though he was still annoyed there weren’t any hoops around, Kagami would take dribbling and practicing his drives on a hard, flat surface over nothing at all.

“Alright. Please, follow me. The walk there will take approximately half an hour, if you don’t mind,” Kuroko explains, bending down to place Nigou back on the ground. And although Kagami wasn’t thrilled the mutt would clearly be tagging along, he was more excited at the prospect of having something to work with basketball-wise to complain too much about it.

“Sure, sure, that’s fine. Just lead the way!”

And so, they walk on for half an hour, just as Kuroko said. They don’t really say much, Kuroko not seeming like that much of a talker to begin with and Kagami trying to keep a consistent distance between him and the dog while hurry along at the same time.

“We have arrived,” Kuroko announces, and he stops in front of the makeshift court. Kagami’s eyes widened, taking it in.

It was an old, wide stretch of gravelly road that. It was roughly the length and width of a full-size basketball court, the rest of it having eroded back to dirt due to time and extended use. It didn’t look as if people used this road anymore, which meant it would be a perfect spot to practice without getting interrupted (or, you know, hit by a car). Definitely nowhere near as smooth to run on though – he’d probably trip if he got too careless.

“Yeah, I can definitely make this work,” Kagami nods decisively, readily taking this average substitute over nothing.

“Would you like to play one-on-one?” Kuroko’s voice piped up again, and Kagami flinched. He’d kind of expected that Kuroko would leave after showing him this place, so he was more than a little shocked at his continual presence and request.

“Hey, don’t think I’ll go easy on you,” Taiga tells him, bouncing the ball against the road to test how well it could handle, “If you really wanna play, I’m gonna go all out,”

“What a relief. I won’t hold back, either,” Kuroko says, dropping his jacket over on the grass next to where Nigou was sitting.

Kagami smirks, eager to get his blood pumping the best way he knew how, “Heh, bring it!”

And without further ado, they play.


	2. Light and shadow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the update! Thanks to everyone who read and left kudos on the first chapter, y'all so sweet ;___; and thanks as well to kroscetish for leaving a comment! That really made me smile ♥ A big thank you to my 2 subscribers as well! I'm happy you want to follow this story, and though I don't know who you are, I think you're awesome for supporting me :) I really hope you continue to enjoy this until the end! And to any new readers who are reading this for the first time, I hope you like it and consider supporting me as well! Without further ado, read away! 
> 
> Note: I've inserted a video about rice fields and rice planting within the fic that can help you guys understand and have a visual! Check it out if you're interested :)

Kagami couldn’t believe what he was seeing. This guy was barely above average at dribbling and handling the ball. He barely held onto it long enough to even make a drive, Taiga having lost count at the amount of steals he’d made. Not only that, but he was so _slow _with every moment, as if he was calculating the next best course of action (as if you had time to do that in a real game!) and just…so bad that Kagami could die.

“You gotta be kidding me!” Kagami exclaimed, stopping still after the last out ball (they had decided it was out when the ball landed off the road and onto the grass) and at the peak of his frustration, “What the hell was that!? I can’t believe you challenged me so arrogantly! You can’t even begin to compare the difference in our skills!”

“Are you serious?” Kuroko asks him, and Kagami gawks at hearing such a response, “You play basketball on a university level team, and you’re being considered for an NBA contract. There is no way I can compete with that.”

So, Kuroko knew about that too? Did his grandparents tell him? _Damn it, did he only do this to embarrass me for taking it so seriously!? I bet that bastard’s laughing his head off on the inside!_

Grabbing the front of Kuroko’s t-shirt, Kagami jerks him in closer aggressively, “What the hell!? You makin’ a fool outta me!?”

Kuroko stares up at him with his unusually wide eyes, blinks, then shakes his head, “No, I’m not. Playing one-on-one is not my preferred way of playing, but I could not miss this opportunity.”

“Hah? Why?” Taiga demands, glaring at him angrily.

“So, I could see how good Kagami-kun is for myself,” Kuroko’s answer is short, simple, and…totally doesn’t make sense! He doesn’t get this kid at all–and so what if Kuroko was 23 and older than him!? He was still a brat, at least as far as Taiga was concerned.

“Man, you’re weird,” sighing, Kagami released Kuroko’s shirt and rubbed at his forehead in frustration, “Did you really used to play basketball in high school?” Kagami side-eyed him in irritated disbelief. Guys who were all talk pissed him off more than anything, and Kuroko clearly couldn’t back up all the shit he was saying.

“I was a starter and played competitively in both middle school and high school. My teams never made it past the semi-finals, but we tried our best,” Kuroko clarified for him, and _seriously?_ Kuroko made it to the semi-finals? It just didn’t seem possible. He must have had a monstrously strong team behind him, or something.

“What position were you?” he asked next, but not out of curiousity. It was just so he could figure out what possible use Kuroko could have on the court, because he honestly seemed to hopeless to ever make it off the bench.

“Hm, I don’t know if you could give me a typical position,” Kuroko pondered aloud, making Kagami rear back in skepticism, “I was a unique player, and people said it was like a phantom sixth player entered the court when I was playing.”

Well, now, that _kinda_ piqued Kagami’s interest. But he had just seen how Kuroko played, and it was really nothing special.

“Maybe you’ve just gotten worse? Since you stopped playing like, what, four years ago?”

“I still practice here when I can. And no, I’d say that my skills are relatively the same.”

“Are you for real!? You suck!” Taiga chastised, unable to tell if this guy was just in denial about his lack of skills or if Kuroko was trying to rile him up.

Kuroko blinks up at him, considers his words, then nods in agreement, “Under these circumstances, yes. I do.”

This guy was so accepting of his faults–it kind of threw Taiga off a little bit. But he was also adamant on his love for basketball. Kagami didn’t get it. Usually people cowered under Kagami’s words if they got on his bad side, his intimidation forcing them to back off and

“I am not like you. I’m a shadow, a supporting player to my team’s light,” Kuroko said cryptically, holding out the basketball for Kagami to take and restart the next drill.

Kuroko was someone he couldn’t figure out straight away. And when Kagami couldn’t figure things out, he’d get frustrated and annoyed. Snatching the ball out of his outstretched hands, Kagami glowered at him before turning away.

“I don’t care about playing against the weak. I’m out,” he said by means of farewell, not even looking over his shoulder as he followed the road out and began the half hour trek back to the main hub of Kamikatsu.

Caving into the urge, he eventually shot a quick glance behind him, but saw no trace of Kuroko or his dog in sight. Kagami had no idea where he could have disappeared to, but he surely knew this place a million times better than Taiga did, so he shrugged off the uneasy feeling of leaving the guy behind.

_The hell is up with him, anyway?_

*

“Uh, e-excuse me, grandmother?” Kagami knocked on the kitchen doorway later that evening, catching his grandmother’s attention from the stove. She was preparing the ingredients for what looked to be a soup, but smiled when she caught sight of Taiga, hunched awkwardly in the tiny Japanese doorway.

“Hm? What is it, dear?” she beckons him closer, and Kagami steps into the room fully, able to stand at his full height a lot better. Shuffling over to the refrigerator (since he didn’t feel so freakishly tall when he was standing next to it) he tucks his hands in his pockets and flounders for a moment as he tries to sort out his thoughts.

“Well, it’s just, I was just wondering if you might know someone,” he started off with, “I ran into this guy when I was out walking today. His name was Kuroko. Kuroko...Tetsuya?”

That name drew his grandmother’s attention back to him, and she actually paused in chopping the carrot as she answered, a little excitedly, “Oh, you met Tetsuya-chan? That’s wonderful! I was wondering when you two would be introduced! Your grandfather and I know him and his family very well. I’m sorry I forgot to mention him to you, but I suppose I was too excited when I saw you to remember it.”

“Th-That’s okay,” Taiga stutters, surprised his grandparents were so familiar with the little oddball he had run into by chance.

“Just like you, Tetsuya-chan really loves basketball. So, I knew that when I told him my grandson who is just about to qualify to play in the NBA was coming here, he would be very eager to meet you,” she said, positively beaming as she returned her attention to the carrots.

“I-I’m not–I mean, I haven’t been guaranteed a contract yet. It’s not a sure thing,” Taiga mumbled under his breath, a faint blush on his nose as he scratches the back of his head sheepishly.

It was peculiar how humble he got when he was around his grandparents–since Taiga did have a bit of arrogance about him when it came to his basketball. Maybe because they were so doting on him, and a part of Taiga sort of felt like he didn’t deserve it. He hadn’t seen them in so long, but they held nothing against him. It made his stomach swirl uncomfortably, but he pushed those feelings away for now.

“Even so, it’s very impressive! I have no doubt you will be one of the lucky ones to be selected,” she chirped, her voice bubbly and light with positivity.

“Thanks. A-Anyway, he showed me a place where I can practice basketball. Just thought it was kinda, er, thoughtful of him, s’all,” even though Kagami didn’t think he and Kuroko got along all that well, it was still nice of the guy to show him that place.

It would be a great way for him to practice his ball handling skills and drives. Now, he just needed to find some sort of make-shift hoop so he could keep up his shooting as well. That one might be a bit of a tall order, but he’d figure something out hopefully.

“Tetsuya-chan is a good boy. He is always helping people, in any small ways he can,” his grandmother was smiling just talking about the guy, and it made Taiga oddly more interested in him, “his parents both work full-time jobs in Tokyo to help support him and his grandmother. They visit him when they can, but you know how it is. His parents used to live here with him, but ever since he was ten years old Tetsuya-chan has lived here with his grandparents.”

“About three years ago his grandfather passed though, and so it has just been him and his grandmother,” a sadness crossed her face at mention of the man’s death, and Taiga assumed that his grandparents must have been close to Kuroko’s grandparents as well.

“As you know and I’m sure you’ve seen them around, many of the residents of Kamikatsu have their own rice fields,” and now that he thought about it Kagami had noticed the many rice fields scattered around the town. Some were terraced down the side of the mountains, while others were larger, square single fields on flatter ground.

“Tetsuya-chan’s grandparents own some as well, and he helped them all through elementary school and high school for some spare pocket money. And, of course, he wanted to ease the burden for them.”

“However, since the passing of his grandfather, Tetsuya-chan works full-time alongside his grandmother in their rice fields. He had plans to attend university in Tokyo, but the timing of it all was so unfortunate, and he refused to leave his grandmother here all alone,” sighing softly at the conclusion of the mini story about Kuroko’s life, his grandmother looked over to him again with a wistful hopefulness in her eyes, “He doesn’t have many friends his own age, it’s really a shame. I hope you get to know him well, Taiga-chan. You’ll see, he really is a wonderful person.”

Kagami hadn’t expected that. Although, it explained a lot. The way Kuroko was polite to a fault, his quiet yet acutely assessing nature, and the fact he had a _damn mutt_ following him everywhere he went. It wasn’t like Kagami pitied the guy, since pity was not something inherent in his nature or personality. He just felt slightly guilty for fobbing Kuroko off. Then, he remembered all the times Kuroko had scared him out of his wits, completely unapologetic, and the guilty feeling evaporated.

Well, seems like he couldn’t just brush Kuroko off if his grandparents were close to him. More than that, his grandmother was hoping they would become friends. Taiga didn’t know if that was maybe hoping a little too high, but he didn’t say anything.

“And you know, by the way, you don’t have to be so formal with us, Taiga-chan,” she adds, her eyes softening when he stiffens. _Damn,_ so they had noticed how awkward he was about it. He wants to say something, but nothing is coming to his mind. He had only been here for a couple of days and he was already messing it up.

“It’s very kind of you for trying so hard to be respectful with your speech. Even if this is your homeland, you have grown up in America for most of your life, so it must be very hard for you to adjust to the language and environment here compared to what you’re used to. Yukihiko has brought you up well,” pride entered her voice at the mention of his father, and Taiga suddenly wondered whether his grandparents were just as fussing and doting to his dad as they were to him. One thing he knew for sure was that his dad loved his parents very much, and it was clear that even after all these years they still had a good relationship.

“But we want you to speak to us in a way that’s most comfortable for you, and your grandfather agrees. Don’t worry, we don’t mind it if your Japanese isn’t perfect. The fact you are even here is incredible to us, so it’s fine,” she smiles at him kindly, reaching out to squeeze his wrist reassuringly and he freaking _nods_ like one of those nodding dog toys in response.

Taiga had never been great with his words, but his grandmother’s smile hitched up her lips a notch higher and she squeezed his hand before returning back to her cooking. He’d just have to try and let his speech flow naturally and not worry about offending them–they accepted him as he was. Calling them ‘grandmother’ and ‘grandfather’ had felt kind of weird to be honest, so he was glad he had their permission to be freer with himself around them from now on.

*

A couple of days later, Taiga heads out for an early morning jog around Kamikatsu. Despite the distinct lack of basketball around the place, there was no question it was amazing land for training. The mountainous terrain would definitely help improve his leg strength and overall endurability, so he could last longer in a game rather than relying on his bursts of stamina all the time.

He’d been going for about an hour and was getting puffed, so he stopped to take a break near some rice fields. Holding his water bottle had been annoying but he was so glad he had taken it with him now, draining half the bottle in one go as he tried to catch his breath.

“Good morning, Kagami-kun,” a familiar, quiet voice addressed him, and subsequently scared him out of his wits.

“G-GWAAAH! Don’t just speak out of nowhere, damn it! What’s with you!?” he exploded, spinning around to see none other than Kuroko standing in the nearby rice field, peering up at him with those wide, blue eyes.

He was dressed in dark blue overalls with a traditional bamboo hat on his head, wearing black gumboots on his feet. Dirt was splattered all over his clothes, looking totally different to the clean casual shorts and t-shirt look he was wearing when they met a couple of a days ago. He was transporting what looked to be the rice seedling boxes onto what Kagami assumed was the [rice planting machine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8nGg-8qOGA).

“I am sorry, but I was working here first until Kagami-kun came along. This is, after all, my family’s rice fields. I thought you came by to say hello,” Kuroko replied, tilting his head sideways at Kagami.

“Huh? I had no idea these were your rice fields,” glancing around, Taiga noted the six rice fields in close proximity to each other.

“Yes, we own all six of these rice fields. I am out planting in this field this morning, while my grandmother is back at the greenhouse. She is getting more rice seedling trays to bring over,” Kuroko is holding a water bottle as well, and it seems he is also taking a short break.

Before Kagami can ask him how long he’s been out here for, the sound of a dog yapping excitedly makes him jolt in place. Frantically, his eyes dart around until they land on the small dog that is chasing a butterfly off to the side of the rice field.

“Uwaah! What’s he doin’ here!?” even though there was some distance between them, Taiga knew how fast dogs could be when they wanted and tried not to draw too much attention to himself.

“He accompanies me wherever I go. Please don’t mind him, Kagami-kun. Nigou can get excited when new people are near, so if he comes too close please let me know and I will scold him. He listens to me,” Kuroko then whistles and calls the dog by name, and he comes bounding over, with Kuroko cupping some water between his hands for the dog to drink.

“It’s-It’s not like I’m scared or anything,” Taiga feels the need to clarify, because he didn’t want Kuroko drawing any conclusions on his own. He had the kind of face that you couldn’t tell _what_ he was thinking.

Kuroko only nods at him, though, “Of course not, I never assumed as much.”

“I just can’t handle dogs. You know not everyone is a dog person,” he reasons, an excuse that worked most of the time. It wasn’t like he was devoted cat person or anything, but he could tolerate them far better than dogs. Cats just did their own thing, and that was more than fine with Taiga.

The dog had finished drinking the water, and Kuroko was now petting him on his head, “That is entirely understandable. I must apologise, however. I will continue to try to convince you of Nigou’s good nature and his cuteness.”

“Yeah, well. Good luck with that,” Kagami offered, though his tone was notably derisive.

_Man, _Kuroko sure was a weird little guy. He looked weak and plain at first, but he could clearly stand his ground. It didn’t seem like he was scared or wary of Kagami, which was a change since his abrupt and bold nature often turned off people in general.

“Is it your first time being accepted?”

“What?”

Blinking at him, Kuroko repeats himself, “For the NBA draft. Will this be Kagami-kun’s first attempt at it?”

“Ah, yeah. I’ve had scouts keeping an eye on me since my second year at uni, though. Sometimes they do that if you have a spark of potential to see how you grow. If you keep improving each time that they see you, then eventually you get selected,” Kagami explained, not used to talking to someone who didn’t know the process of the draft. He had a little practice though, when he had to explain to his grandparents on the first night that he stayed with them.

Kuroko hums thoughtfully, “How wonderful. Kagami-kun is exceptionally skilled, as I have seen for myself. Your parents must be very proud of you for achieving such a feat.”

“It’s, uh, it’s just me and my dad,” Kagami says, stiff as always when mention of his mother came up. 

People either assumed she was dead, or she left, and most found it (kinda morbid in a way) more comforting to believe she had died rather than face the possibility that a woman walked out on her son. But it was her choice to leave, and although Taiga might never understand why she did what she did, it had happened and that was that.

“I see. I’m sorry, I am prying too much,” Kuroko apologises, his voice lilted in a low, remorseful tone–actually bows his head and shoulders properly and everything–and Taiga could tell he really regretted bringing it up.

“Nah, you’re fine,” Kagami reassures him, not sure why he feels the need to but doesn’t linger on it. 

“What does Kagami-kun’s father do?” Kuroko asked, redirecting the conversation and probably hoping for a more successful route this time.

“He works as a consultant for big companies in America.”

Lifting an eyebrow at him, Kuroko then asks him, “So, Kagami-kun’s family is rich?”

“Uh, well. Kinda. No, I mean, we’re…comfortable,” and Kagami winces at how it sounds coming out because _yeah_, that did sound exactly like the kind of shit that rich people said.

Kuroko deadpanned, staring at him unblinkingly and stopping his work, “Kagami-kun, that’s despicable. How can you say that when I am toiling in the rice fields every day?”

“Wha–! Damn it, that came out wrong! We’re not like billionaires or anything, we don’t live in a mansion! I live in my own apartment, alright!? And I saved up money myself to pay for it!”

“I was just kidding. Please calm down,” Kuroko said serenely, maintaining his blank expression from earlier. So how the hell could Kagami have known he was joking around!?

“Everyone has their own struggles in life. It is not my place to judge. If anything, it’s a good thing that Kagami-kun doesn’t have to worry about that kind of thing,” Kuroko responded sagely, and Kagami was taken aback at how wise the words were.

“Yeah, I guess,” Taiga shrugs, “so, you lived here all your life?”

“Yes. I have travelled to visit Tokyo and Okinawa occasionally, but not often. I have lived here since I was born. This is my home.” Kuroko said, and Kagami felt pondered the word. _Home._ What a strange concept, he’d never really thought about it before. Well, he guessed his home was back in America, right?

“I attended elementary school and middle school here in Kamikatsu and boarded in Takamatsu for the remaining three years of high school. Since Kamikatsu does not have a high school or university, travelling is necessary to achieve further education,” Kuroko placed his drink bottle back on the ground and went back to fiddling around with the machine, turning knobs and levers that Taiga had absolutely no clue about what they did.

“Not interested in university?”

“I was accepted into one in Tokyo, but I respectfully declined. Working in the ricefields with my grandmother is very rewarding, and I have been doing it for most of my life. I enjoy the work, and it’s important to me,” Kuroko tells him, and although his words are sincere, there’s something hidden in his eyes that Kagami can’t quite figure out.

“It’s a shame I can’t play with you on a larger team, Kagami-kun. Then, I could better utilise my specialist skills and show you what I can do,” he ruminates, a hint of a frown on his face evident by the way his eyebrows knit together in displeasure.

Taiga scoffed, sending Kuroko a blatantly sarcastic look, “No offence, but I just don’t see how you could get any better with more people on the court. If anything, you’d probably be even worse.”

“Seeing is believing, Kagami-kun. Please don’t discount my efforts until you have seen them for yourself,” Kuroko is quick to counter his words, but has the air of someone who is used to others assuming their limitations and constantly striving to prove them wrong.

Then, a suggestion came to Kagami. It would sate his lingering curiousity about what Kuroko meant when he called himself a ‘shadow’. So, with his solid reasoning of _what the hell, why not?_ He asks Kuroko, “You got any old videos or somethin’? Like, recorded games?”

“…I did not think of that,” Kuroko uttered softly, suddenly contemplative. After a moment of silence, he looks back up to Kagami questioningly, “Would you like to see them?”

“Uhh, I mean, I guess,” Kagami mumbles, and draws a perplexed look in return from Kuroko. Affronted at being stared at as if _he_ was the weird one, Kagami squares his shoulders and glowers over at him, “What!? You’re the one who’s being all pushy about it! Saying ‘seeing is believing’ and acting so high and mighty. Well, show me then!”

It wasn’t like he was thrilled about spending more time with Kuroko or anything. But, since his grandparents obviously had a soft spot for him (for _who knows_ what reason?), Kagami had decided he would be civil and as polite as he could–except when Kuroko pissed him off too much to hold back. Besides, finding someone else in this village that was interested in basketball was a miracle in itself–and if that person was Kuroko, then so be it.

“I will have to ask my parents what they have done with the footage from my games. Let me get back to you about it,” Kuroko tells him assuredly, and _man_, his Japanese was so damn formal. Structurally and grammatically perfect, in contrast to Taiga’s rough around the edge’s way of speaking.

“Okay,” Kagami nods dumbly, because there’s not much else he can do but that. It’s quiet between them for a little while, as Kagami watches Kuroko working in the rice field.

He hoists himself up and into the rice planting machine that he’s just finished loading up, starting it up and beginning the process of planting the rice. It’s interesting to see how it’s done in real life, the process something Kagami hadn’t thought much of before. Rice was just rice, right? But no, it wasn’t. There was a lot more to it than the bag you bought off the supermarket shelf.

“You’re pretty good at that,” he nods at Kuroko riding the rice planting machine when he’s within earshot. The machine was loud, but only a bit noisier than a car or truck.

“I have been doing it since I was a child. This is like second nature to me,” Kuroko explains over the noise of the machine, and Kagami can see that is pretty much true. In any case, it seemed like Kuroko had more talent for rice farming than basketball.

Frowning, Kagami mused aloud, “What do you call that anyway? A rice field worker? A ricer?”

“We are called farmers. Since we are harvesting the rice, it is just like harvesting grain or livestock,” Kuroko corrects him simply, not sounding offended or scolding. It was just like he was stating an informational fact.

“A-Ah, right, I knew that,” it didn’t stop Taiga from feeling embarrassed, though, as he mussed up the hair at the back of his head sheepishly.

Then, Kuroko is out of earshot again, heading down the next line faultlessly straight once again. The way he handles the machine so steadily is surely deceptively easy, and Taiga imagined if he ever got behind the wheel of that thing, he’d be all over the place. When he completes a neat turn and is back within hearing range, Kuroko speaks up again.

“We have two major rice seasons here in Japan: the first is from as early as April to June, and the second is from August to as late as October,” Kuroko offered him further clarification on the career of a rice farmer, despite Kagami not asking (though he wasn’t entirely uninterested in learning a bit about it), “as we’re almost midway through March, it’s getting closer for the rice to be ready. Spring and autumn are the best seasons for it to grow in.”

Wait, did that mean Kuroko would have to go and check them each by hand to see if they were ready when the time came for it? That was insane! It was just Kuroko and his grandma, though–did they really do all this by themselves?

For the past – nearly four years? – Taiga had been barely scraping through university and playing basketball basically whenever he wanted and as much as he wanted, And Kuroko had been here. Working in the rice fields. Holding a full-time job fresh out of high school.

It was weird to compare how someone your age had lived their life alongside yours. Sometimes he fell into the trap of believing everyone his age was still in university or had just finished university. Not the case. The fact was that that just wasn’t true. There were lots of people, just like Kuroko, who worked full time like this after finishing high school. It wasn’t even necessarily a job Kuroko had chosen for himself – since it was a family thing, it had kind of just been passed down to him. Even after he’d been accepted to university, he still hadn’t gone out of a sense of duty for his family. 

He knew it was a big thing in Japan, the whole filial duty exchange as the children grew and the parents aged. Kagami had only ever had his dad. Alex had been around for a while and was something of a (wildly inappropriate at times) mother-figure for him, but she hadn’t been there since the start. So, Taiga couldn’t really understand the deep appreciation and respect those like Kuroko had instilled into them, where they could put their family as a whole before anything else. Maybe Taiga was just used to the individualised lifestyle that came from living in a western country like America.

“How long will you stay in Kamikatsu, Kagami-kun?” Kuroko pipes up, startling Kagami out of his thoughts.

“Uh, two months,” Taiga answers, a little hesitant but seeing no logical reason why he should avoid the question, “I gotta be back by the time the draft starts up in June.”

“It sounds so exciting,” Kuroko’s voice is steady, but there’s something to be said for the way his eyes seem to be swimming at the mention of the NBA draft.

He then went on to say more, “Also, that’s good. You will get to see the small festival we hold at the conclusion of a rice harvest before you leave. It’s typically held towards the end of April and is a night that we all look forward to very much.”

“Uhh, right. Cool. Thanks for uh, letting me know. I’ll be there,” Kagami says, not sure why he’d make such a commitment when he barely knew the guy. But maybe his grandparents would be going too? This village seemed like the tight-knit kind of place. Even though his grandparents didn’t own a rice field, they would probably support the farmers here just as vigorously as if they were farmers themselves.

He checked his watch and noticed that roughly 40 minutes had passed. Did he really spend that long standing here and talking with Kuroko? Taiga had watched him work for a while as well, it wasn’t all talking, but he hadn’t thought it was _that_ long. He hadn’t even had breakfast yet, so he chose to end his run for today and go fill his stomach. 

“I’m hungry. Gonna go down to the shops and get somethin’ to eat. See ya,” he stands up, stretching himself out as Kuroko looks up from his work once more.

“See you later, Kagami-kun,” Kuroko says, bidding him farewell and sending him off with a well-mannered nod and a small wave as he readies to go down the next line.

How long had Kuroko been out working for? He’d been out and settled in the rice fields before Taiga had come by, so he must have been up super early. If anything, he could see that Kuroko was the perfect example of ‘hard work’ personified, and Taiga could respect that. Maybe Kuroko wasn’t so bad…but Kagami would wait to see if his actions matched his words when he saw those basketball matches.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, they get a little bit closer! Kagami is grumpy and short-tempered as always, but we all know he's a big softie underneath his tough act ( ^w^ )♥ stay tuned for the next chapter, coming soon! Thank you for reading!


	3. Kindred spirits...or something

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! :) hope you are all doing well and remember: you are a just like a growing plant so make sure you get lots of water and sunshine! A little self-care tip for the day by me haha xD Special shout-out to my 4 lovely subscribers! \^o^/ thank you for following this story and supporting me! You're all the best!! New and silent readers, welcome! I really hope you enjoy this chapter ( ;w; )

Kagami had just returned from his early morning run. Luckily, his grandparents were early risers like him and were already up and about when he came back. He greeted them good morning as he took his drink bottle out of the fridge. He had gulped down a few mouthfuls when his LINE app started ringing signalling that someone was trying to voice call him. Frowning at the unexpectedness of it, Kagami waves to his grandparents and they wave him off as he heads into his room to take the call.

He checks the caller ID and balks at the name that is showing up. What the hell did Aomine want with him this early in the morning? Actually, Aomine was just as dumb as Taiga when it came to the overseas time conversions, so he probably had no idea what time it was in Japan and was just calling because he felt like it – or more accurately, he felt like messing with Taiga.

Scowl set in place as he answered the call, Kagami made his annoyance obvious in his tone as he brought the phone up to talk, “What do you want, Aho?”

_“Kagamin!”_ Momoi’s voice squealed happily over the line, and he had to hold the phone away from his ear for a bit, a little startled (though he’d never admit it out loud).

_“How are you? Are you doing well?” _she chirped, full of her usual bright energy.

“A-Ah. Hey, Momoi. Sorry, thought you were Aomine,” he apologised, scratching the back of his neck and feeling awkward for greeting her so brashly.

It wasn’t unusual that Aomine and Momoi used each other’s phones sometimes, being together as often as they were, so Taiga should have remembered that it might have been her on the line instead. Thinking on it now, it was obvious the call would be from Momoi – who had probably tried to get Aomine to call him first but had given up when Aomine had…well, acted like Aomine.

_“Oh no, that’s okay! He’s here too actually! Dai-chan, say hello to Kagamin!” _Momoi is quick to reassure him, and he can hear movement on the other end, likely she was shuffling in closer to Aomine and shoving the phone in his face.

To Kagami’s surprise, he hears a response, _“‘Sup, Bakagami.”_

“Yo,” Taiga greets in kind, because he and Aomine did have brief moments of civility between them. Sometimes.

Aomine and Momoi had been living in Japan up until their last year of high school. After graduation, Aomine was offered a scholarship to play basketball at the same university in the U.S. Kagami was attending. That was how they met. And after meeting Aomine, he had of course met Momoi. She attended their university as well; however, she was taking an actual proper course and was basically Aomine’s stand-in mom. How she put up with that lazy bastard’s ass was beyond him, but she was alright. After knowing her for nearly four years, she was a good friend – not like Aomine who got on his nerves every other day of the week. She tended to fuss over Taiga as well sometimes, since he lived by himself and could have the tendency to get tunnel vision when it came to basketball. Although he was a lot more independent than Aomine and didn’t rely on her as much. 

_“It’s just after 9am over there now, isn’t it? I hope I did the conversions correctly and didn’t disrupt you! Since you like to get up early, I thought it would be okay,” _she says in a light-hearted tone, though Kagami can hear her concern that she might be being a nuisance – which she wasn’t, of course – so he tries his best to assure her otherwise.

“Nah, all good. You’re right. Which means it’s, uh…sometime in the afternoon there, right?” he ponders aloud, his eyebrows knitting together as he tries to do some makeshift calculations in his head.

_“Mhm! It’s just after 5pm and we’re on our way home! We wanted to check in and see how you are!” _Momoi said, and he heard Aomine grunt and mumble something incoherent in the background, but Taiga didn’t bother asking him to speak up.

“Ah, right. It’s, uh, I mean I’m doing alright. My grandparents have been really cool about everything, so I’m settling in okay,” he shrugged, even though neither of them could see it

_“That’s great!” _she said enthusiastically,_ “So, how do you like Japan so far? Isn’t it beautiful?”_

“Yeah, it is. It’s really green, like, everywhere. The air is so fresh, it’s kinda weird. But, not in a bad way I guess,” he scrunches his face up at the wall, irritated at himself for his less than stellar descriptive language. Aomine and Momoi could both speak English well enough, but when it was just the three of them together, they tended to talk in Japanese. It was how Taiga had managed to pick up the language moderately fluently again.

_“I’m glad you’re enjoying it so far!” _Momoi chimes, never one to poke fun at Kagami for his grammar issues – for which Taiga’s grateful, since she’s one of the few who doesn’t. He hums in response, so she continues, _“Ne, Dai-chan is already sulking because you’re not around to play one-on-one with him at his whim. I think he already misses you,” _she said in a hushed voice, giggling softly over the line.

_“Oi, Satsuki! Don’t exaggerate!” _For once Aomine is quick to respond, sounding ticked off and slightly embarrassed. Taiga raises his eyebrow as Aomine clears his throat, _“I mean, it’s just a drag that you’re the only guy who can give me a half-decent challenge. The other guys on the team are good but man, they get tired too quick.”_

Not giving Kagami a chance to respond, Aomine griped further, “_Plus, without you around I’m stuck with nothing but either take out or Satsuki’s cooking. Why didn’t you make me a huge ass supply of food before you left?”_

_“There’s nothing wrong with my cooking!”_ Momoi huffed in the background, and Kagami can picture her pouting at Aomine, who would probably be sticking his finger in his ear or slouching against something moodily like the dumbass he was.

Taiga was harsher on him than Momoi, barking into the phone, “I’m not your damn personal chef! Cook your own food, you lazy bastard! Momoi, just let him starve. It’ll be easier on everyone,”

_“HEY!”_

Man, Aomine really was just a big kid. _What a pain in the ass_, although Kagami can’t deny he’s smirking. Momoi is laughing happily on the other end, and he heard Aomine sigh in resignation. Even though it’s been less than a week since he left L.A., it feels like a lot longer since he last saw them.

_“We hope you’re feeling better, Kagamin. Both of us. Right, Dai-chan?” _she says warmly, and Kagami recognises her mothering tendencies coming out right – directed at both him and Aomine, which was embarrassing because Taiga _hated_ being lumped in together with that jerk.

_“Yeah, yeah. Just make sure you come back with your head in the game. I don’t wanna see any of that ball-hogging shit or your pissy tantrums if things don’t go your way when you get back,” _Aomine orders him like he’s some upstart youngster underling and not the exact same age as him.

Gritting his teeth, Taiga can’t help but call him out on his bullshit, “You’re one to talk, asshole!”

Interestingly though, Aomine doesn’t bite back, and instead lowers his voice into a more serious tone, _“If we’re gonna go pro, we gotta step it up, man. And I’m not gonna let you flake out now and make me go on alone. That’s too boring. I’ve gotta be able to show up at least someone as a rookie in the league, and I already decided it’s gonna be you.”_

Taiga knows that although what Aomine said isn’t untrue (because he’s an egotistical idiot like that), it’s also his weird, round-a-bout way of encouraging him. It doesn’t happen often, but when one of them loosens the reins, the other is there yanking on them roughly. Aomine is giving him his wake-up call, and if Aomine of all people is saying this kind of stuff to him, then Taiga realises it might be a bigger problem than he originally thought.

Staring down at his messy, unmade futon, Taiga scoffs and answers his basketball rival in the only way he knows how: “Shut up, you jerk. Don’t think you’re gonna overtake me so easily. I’m gonna give it my best shot too, y’know.”

_“Good. Better not disappoint me, Kagami,” _Aomine is being an asshole as usual, but there’s something hidden in the words. Like a promise passed between them, that they would both make it through no matter what.

_“Take good care of yourself, Kagamin! We’ll call again soon, okay?” _Momoi starts to wrap up the call, her kind voice steadying him once more.

“Yeah. You guys take care too,” he says in a softer voice, and they all say their goodbyes and hang up.

It was unexpected, but the phone call from the two of them had lifted his spirits. Kagami hadn’t expected them to call him while he was over here – maybe message at most, but hearing their voices kinda helped him feel supported, even if they were in another country. With distance comes perspective, or something like that. Stretching his limbs out, Taiga decides to go take a quick shower and get ready for the day.

*

“Taiga-chan, would you come with me for a bit? I need some help with this,” his grandfather calls for him in the early hours of the afternoon, poking his head inside to find Taiga just having finished his lunch. Not one to groan at the mention of hard work or helping his grandparents, Taiga nodded and grabbed his cap before making his way outside to the garden.

“I’ve made a start on the weeding here, but I almost accidentally pulled out one of your grandmother’s plants. I wouldn’t want to see the look on her face if I had succeeded,” his grandfather admitted sheepishly, and Kagami felt amusement at seeing this side to his grandparents’ relationship – never having really seen a wife and husband interact all that much as he was growing up since his mother kind of…left.

But anyway, he looked at all the weeds and then back to his grandfather, who was smiling at him hopefully, “Normally, I would try to take care of it myself as best I could. But I think your eyes are a lot sharper than mine, so it would be quicker if you were able to help me. I hope you don’t mind?”

“Sure thing, gramps. It’s no problem,” and Taiga gets down on his knees and starts to pull out the weeds, feeling glad that he dressed in his tracksuit today.

“Gramps, huh?” his grandfather chuckled, and Taiga realises this is the first time he’s used the nicknames he came up with on one of them. Since his grandmother had told him to just stick with what made him most comfortable, this is what Kagami had decided on, but he didn’t know if they’d actually like it or not.

Freezing, he turns to look over at his grandfather, who is sitting down not far from him and having a drink, “U-Uh, I mean–I can call you something else–s-sorry!”

“No, please don’t change a thing. It’s already grown on me now, so don’t worry. Your gramps isn’t the uptight kind,” his grandfather grins at him, looking satisfied at how his words came out, and Taiga really sees the resemblance between him and his father.

“Man, you and dad are really alike,” he confesses, and he really could see a lot more clearly now where his dad inherited all his lame jokes and dorky ways. His grandfather was a spirited old man, and Kagami didn’t doubt that he had been a spirited young man long ago too.

Still grinning, his grandfather looks up to the sky and let out a quiet sigh, “It’s a shame Yukihiko couldn’t come over with you. But we did see him just over a year ago, while we haven’t seen you Taiga-chan for many years. Truthfully, we’re a little pleased we get to spoil our grandson like this and devote our time only on you!”

Kagami blushes, still not used to how adoring his grandparents could be, as he keeps moving along and working on the weeds, “How old was I the last time you saw me?”

“Hmm, I think about 7 or 8, not very old at all. You were so little we could pick you up,” his grandfather raises his hands, as if he’s imagining when Kagami was small and portable. Then, he drops his arms and smiles fondly over at Taiga, “but now, my dear grandson is taller and stronger than me. Damn it, makes me feel like an old man.”

“Y-You’re not old!” Taiga blurted out, which makes his grandfather laugh heartily. Still, Kagami perseveres, trying to convince him he was wrong, “I mean, you and Grams are both really active and stuff. Way more fit than a lot of other grandparents at your age!”

“Even so, I feel bad that I need to ask for your help with this. We don’t want to make you do too many errands while you’re here. This is supposed to be your holiday after all,” frowning, his grandfather glances over at him apologetically and Taiga waves off his worries.

“It’s cool, I wanna help you guys out. It’ll give me a chance to get more familiar with this place if I’m doing stuff for you and grams,” he says, almost halfway done with the weeding and self-satisfied with how much time he saved for his grandfather by offering his help. It wasn’t basketball, but it was still hard work and if it helped his grandparents, then he really didn’t mind that much.

“You’re kind, Taiga-chan. We appreciate you very much,” reaching over, his grandfather petted his head lightly and Kagami was embarrassed at how nice it felt. He nodded quickly and went back to his task of getting rid of as many weeds as possible. And all the while, Taiga couldn’t help but think on how his grandparents were the truly kind ones here.

Honestly, they were probably the kindest people in the whole freaking world. At least in Taiga’s mind they were.

*

The next day, Kagami made his way out to the clearing Kuroko had showed him the other day, and he was already glaring up a storm as he took in his surroundings. It had rained the night before, and the water was still present on the piece of road. It didn’t cover the whole thing but was reduced to large puddles in random places that would make it hard for Kagami to move around freely without worrying that he would slip over. The last thing he needed at a time like this was to sustain an injury, and there was no way he’d risk it with the draft coming up in a few months.

“Damn, I can’t do anything with these puddles in the way,” he scowled, kicking at the water with his shoes like an unhappy child.

“It’s the downside of having an outdoor makeshift court,” a soft-spoken voice said beside him, and Kagami blinked, turned his head, and was greeted with the sight of Kuroko standing by his side when just a moment ago he could have _sworn_ he was alone.

“GAAAHH! Where did you come from!?” Kagami screeched, stumbling backwards in shock and letting his ball drop to the ground, but he caught it again quickly when it bounced back up.

“I was with Kagami-kun the whole time,” Kuroko stated, dressed in a zip-front t-shirt hoodie with a long-sleeve shirt underneath, loose shorts, and running shoes. _Yep_, he’d definitely followed Kagami with the clear intention to practice with him again.

“Why can’t you just appear normally!? Damn it, don’t scare me like that!” he rebuked to Kuroko, inwardly embarrassed at being caught off guard so easily by somebody so harmless and what’s more, by somebody _shorter_ than him.

“My apologies, it was not my intention,” Kuroko offers an olive branch, and Kagami sighs harshly, waving him off with a hand as if to say ‘don’t worry about it’.

Raising an eyebrow, he regards Kuroko questioningly, “So, what do you do when this happens?”

Kuroko shrugs, “Nothing. All we can do is wait for the water to eventually disperse and evaporate.”

“Man, I was looking forward to getting in a few drills today,”

“It should be all cleared up by tomorrow,” Kuroko offers consolingly, and Kagami grunts in acknowledgment. This doesn’t bother Kuroko, who turns to face him fully and is apparently not done talking yet, “By the way, Kagami-kun, would you like to see the videos of my middle school and high school basketball games?”

Kagami blinks at him, furrowing his brow, “Huh? You have them already?”

“When I told my parents that a university basketball player was asking about them, and that it was the Kagami-sans’ grandson, they sent down a flood of links across multiple emails. I have spent time since then downloading them all,” the shorter boy informs him.

“Geez, how many _are _there?”

“53.”

Taiga rears back, gobsmacked at hearing such a random, high number, “Wh-What the hell!? _53!? _Did you record every single game or something?”

Sighing softly, Kuroko nods affirmatively, “Yes, it seems so. You do not have to watch all of them, but since you mentioned you were interested to see my style of basketball on a team, I have them prepared for you.”

“Yeah, alright. I’m still interested, and since there’s no basketball today, I’ll watch ‘em,” Kagami conceded, because 1) he was in the mood for basketball, and if he couldn’t play, then watching it was the next best thing, and 2) he actually was really intrigued to see how Kuroko played. He’d wondered about it more than he’d like to admit, and Taiga was ready to put his wondering mind to rest and have his questions answered.

“Okay. The videos are on my laptop, so please follow me back to my house,” and with that said, Kuroko turns to start walking and Kagami jolts in place before hurrying to catch up with him. _Man, if I’m not watching closely, he’ll slip away without me even noticing. _

When they arrive at Kuroko’s house about forty minutes later, Kagami notes how it’s a little bigger than his grandparents’ house, but then remembers that there used to be more people living here. When Kuroko opens the door to the genkan and does his little ‘tadaima’, Taiga fumbles after him and mutters hurriedly under his breath, ‘sorry for the intrusion’ as he takes off his shoes.

“My grandmother is out at the moment, but there will be other opportunities for you to meet her,” Kuroko explained, leading the way into the living area and offering Kagami a seat around the small, square table. He then disappears and returns before Kagami can even scratch his head with his laptop and a tall glass of orange juice for Kagami.

“I thought that Kagami-kun might like something to drink after walking such a long way,” he says courteously, placing the glass in front of him and taking a seat beside Taiga.

“Uh, yeah. Thanks for that,” floundering at the small kindness, Kagami picks it up and takes a drink to show his appreciation. Kuroko offers him a brief smile and then opens up his laptop, beginning to set it up so they could watch the videos.

After watching the first video, Kagami couldn’t believe his eyes. After the fifth video, he was trying to track only Kuroko’s movements on the screen, but he still couldn’t keep up with him. And after the tenth video, Kagami felt like he was seeing something that was...actually pretty amazing. 

It was crystal clear to him now that Kuroko definitely wasn’t a guy who was all talk. He had the skills and the dedication to basketball that meant he was utterly serious, and Kagami could tell just by watching him. The look in his eyes was different to other members in the team: it was the look of someone that loved basketball more than anything and took every game to heart. Taiga knew all that, because he recognised those same things in himself. And the truth was, he had totally underestimated Kuroko.

“Man, I’m blown away. You’re right about one thing, you’re way more suited to playing in a team rather than one-on-one,” Kagami tells him, eyes wide as he looks from the screen with Kuroko on it to the Kuroko sitting next to him. The guy was clearly excellent at what he did, and Taiga wasn’t one to hold a grudge if he was proven wrong. If anything, he was glad that Kuroko’s words matched up with his actions.

“Thank you,” Kuroko nods his head graciously, his lips lifting in a pleased lilt at the acknowledgment.

_Damn_, now he was itching to play on a team with Kuroko. What would it feel like to receive one of those passes? Would it hurt his hand? It looked super strong, and the force Kuroko exerted when throwing the ball far surpassed any kind of pass Kagami had seen before.

But, something inside Taiga was telling him that he could catch those passes.

He wanted to try it out really badly, but didn’t know how to ask Kuroko, still feeling a little standoffish around the wispy boy. _Maybe later,_ Kagami tells himself, if he can manage to tolerate Kuroko’s presence a little more and get used to his overall…oddness.

They watch as the Kuroko in the video tries to make a shot in the hoop, but it bounces off the rim and is stolen by the other team. Kagami frowns, but figured it was only natural due to Kuroko’s height and stature that he couldn’t shoot very well. In every video, Kuroko had tried making shots, but only successfully scored about two or three and that was only because they were fluke shots.

“As you can see, my shooting is not very impressive,” Kuroko admitted honestly, and Kagami squinted at the screen, half amused and half exasperated at just how bad Kuroko’s shots were. 

“Geez, your height doesn’t help it either. Maybe if you were taller it would have at least half a chance of going in,” Kagami reasoned, disappointed that shooting was clearly not Kuroko’s forte. Even with all the practicing Kuroko had done (as shown by his persistent attempts at shooting a basket when he was in a position to during a game), he didn’t improve any. It made Taiga frustrated for him, because it sucked when hard work didn’t pay off.

Kuroko drew back slightly, and Kagami didn’t know better he’d think the older one was almost offended. And sure enough, Kuroko says to him, “Are you making fun of me?”

Smugness overtook him, and Kagami smirked arrogantly down at Kuroko, deliberately showing off their height difference, “I mean, you say you’re older than me but you’re the shorter one here. Bet you got mistaken as a middle school kid instead of a player a lot back in high school.”

“Mental maturity and how much more the brain develops with age is more of a measure of adulthood than physical appearance. In that case, I am without a doubt the older adult between us two,” Kuroko answered deftly, raising his chin slightly as he closes the video and searches for the next one.

Taiga’s smirk disappears at that, scowling as his irritation overwhelms him and he palms Kuroko’s head, “Oi oi, now who’s making fun of who!?”

“I didn’t say anything, I was only stating a biological fact,” Kuroko’s voice is slightly strained and Kagami glares at him. Releasing his head, he hears Kuroko give a very monotone ‘ow’ and rub at his head. _This kid really knows how to drive me up the wall,_ Taiga thinks to himself.

They watch the next video in silence, and soon Taiga starts to understand a little of how Kuroko’s thought processes worked when he was on the court. He truly was a supporting player, a ‘shadow’ as he had proclaimed, making everyone shine brighter due to his low-key, highly skilled and super effective plays.

“What is your shooting like, Kagami-kun?” Kuroko asked, drawing Kagami out of his musings.

Taking his eyes off the screen, he looks over at Kuroko who is waiting patiently for a response, “Me? I’m good at dunks, I love ‘em. My outside shots are something I wanna work on though. I only get about 50/50 accuracy, and that bastard Aomine always rubs it in my face.”

“Who is that?”

“Ah, he’s a guy that’s on my university basketball team. He got selected for the NBA draft too, and we’re the only rookies that were picked from our university. So, I’m kinda stuck with him,” Kagami groused, leaving out the part about how Aomine was one of the most popular, well-known players on the university basketball scene and how so many would do anything for the chance to play with him. Kuroko didn’t need to know all that.

However, Kuroko is the curious type, and probes further, “What kind of player is Aomine-kun?”

“Kinda like me, I guess. We’re similar in that way, we both crave a challenge and we’re all about the offensive play. But, he’s...better than me,” Taiga admitted, modesty overtaking him as it often did when others compared him to Aomine. It was flattering and all, but Taiga knew he wasn’t even close to being that good.

Abruptly turning to Kuroko, Kagami leans in close to his face and glares fiercely at him, “Don’t even _think _of telling him I said that! He’ll never let me live it down if he knew.”

Kuroko stares back impassively at him, and he doesn’t even flinch at Kagami’s invasion of his personal space, “I won’t say a word, I promise.”

Gauging Kuroko’s answer as honest, Kagami leans back away from him to a respectable distance once more, “His skills are just on a whole other level. He’s crazy fast, mixing in street ball to his style. Plus, he’s the best shooter I’ve ever seen. He can take a shot from basically any position and it’ll go in.”

“How impressive,” Kuroko hums, and Kagami can hear the slight wistfulness in his tone.

“But man, his personality is so freaking annoying. If it wasn’t for Momoi keeping him in check, I’d be decking his ass every week,” at Kuroko’s questioning look, he elaborates, “She’s Aomine’s childhood friend and looks after the lazy bastard. He doesn’t deserve it most of the time, but they’re pretty much inseparable.”

“They actually used to live in Tokyo, but after high school Aomine got a basketball scholarship to the same university as I did. So, they both moved over to the U.S. to attend it together. Rest is history, I s’pose.”

“That’s them,” he shows Kuroko his phone, a picture of Aomine, Momoi and himself on the screen.

It was a photo they had taken last year, when the three of them had gone out to an amusement park for the day. It was a selfie, and Momoi was the one taking it. Taiga remembered she had used a selfie stick, since her arms were too short to do it. She was in the middle, smiling prettily up at the camera with Kagami and Aomine either side of her. Taiga had thrown up a peace sign to look less awkward, while that asshole Aomine just stared boredly into the camera. But Taiga remembered how Momoi had been very pleased with it, stating that, ‘it’s rare for Dai-chan to look at the camera at all, so I’m happy!’ and honestly, she was way too sweet to that guy.

Anyway, the amusement park day had been a win-win situation: Momoi put up with his and Aomine’s massive appetites, stopping at every food stall so they could try everything and stuff their faces. And they went on the rides with her, carried her bags when they got too heavy, and won her an array of stuffed animals. Aomine complained the whole time obviously, but he still did it – mostly because Taiga had challenged him to some of the games to get him motivated for Momoi’s sake. He hadn’t wanted her to get upset, because Taiga was awful at comforting girls and Aomine would be no help at all and probably only make her more upset with his dumb antics and careless words. Besides, if there was one thing Aomine couldn’t stand, it was Kagami besting him in any kind of physical tasks. All in all, it had been a pretty good day.

“Aomine-kun and Momoi-san. They are Kagami-kun’s friends, yes?” Kuroko asked, his eyes wide and seeking clarification.

“Hah? No way!” fuming, Kagami scrunched his face up, “I mean, yeah, Momoi is really nice so she’s fine. But that bastard Aomine is not even close to be a friend.”

Kuroko’s brows knit together thoughtfully, “Really? But, Kagami-kun seems to have found a kindred spirit with Aomine-kun. You can be rivals that push each other to be better, and friends to keep each other going.”

Taken aback by the simple yet genuinely honest and true wording, Taiga was momentarily speechless. Taking his silence as a sign to keep going, Kuroko continued, “It is comforting to know that you are not facing something as challenging as the draft alone. With Aomine-kun there too, it must not feel so overwhelming or impossible. It will motivate you to do your absolute best, so neither of you will be left behind by the other.”

Jerking his head to the side, Kagami mutters at him frustratedly, “Man, what are you saying embarrassing stuff like that for?”

“Is it? I was just saying what I thought,” he’s not looking at Kuroko, but he has a pretty good idea of the look on his face: that open yet hard-to-read look, eyes wide and face relaxed neutrally.

“You’re too honest, don’t you have a filter?” Kagami retorted, a light blush on his face that he hopes will fade away quickly.

Letting the moment pass, Kuroko moves onto another topic, “Does Kagami-kun have any videos of his games too?”

“Uh, I think so. No way I have as many as you, but I have a few. Why, you wanna watch ‘em?” Taiga eyes him suspiciously, like he’s not sure if Kuroko is just messing with him or being serious. With the kind of face Kuroko had, it was impossible to tell. 

“Yes, please. I would like to watch them very much,” Kuroko utters immediately after Kagami’s answer, and that tells Taiga all he needs to know Kuroko is serious, “since I have little experience of basketball on the university level, I am interested in seeing what it is like.”

“I only have them on my laptop, though.”

“Then, shall we head over to Kagami-kun’s grandparents’ house?”

Taiga is surprised at the suggestion, but not unwilling if Kuroko is open to it, “You sure? Don’t you have any other plans?”

“No, this is my day off. I would be happy to spend it watching basketball. The only thing that would be better would be if I could play basketball, too,” the boy says simply, but his passion is so tangible to Kagami now that it makes him smirk.

“Looks like we agree on something, eh?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now Kagami knows the kind of basketball that Kuroko plays and is low-key really impressed and amazing ( ;///; ) don't we all love how it's canon that Kagami calls Kuroko 'amazing'? Thank you for reading and see you next time!


	4. Unlikely friends

They do the same thing once they arrive, setting up in Kagami’s grandparents’ living room sitting around the table as they watch the videos on Kagami’s laptop. Returning the favour, Kagami set out some fruit and glasses of water for them to have while watching. He learnt that Kuroko had an appetite very similar to a bird. But at least he ate some of it, since Kagami would feel bad if he left without any food or drink in his stomach. 

“Kagami-kun, your dunks are very impressive. I feel inspired watching them, like flying isn’t all that impossible for humans,” Kuroko eventually pipes up, startling kagami who doesn’t quite manage to hide his shock (damn, Kuroko was one sneaky little bastard).

Not one who was used to compliments, Kagami shrugs it off like usual, “The hell are you on about? That’s not flying. I’m just jumping, stupid.”

Kuroko surprises him, though, when he adds, “I believe the official term used is ‘air-walking’, isn’t it?”

“Hah, that’s right,” he smirked wryly. Kuroko really did know his stuff, and it wasn’t often that Kagami encountered someone (outside of his team, Alex, and his dad) who could keep up with him when he was talking basketball. 

“As you said, Aomine-kun can really shoot from anywhere and make the basket. His movements are fast and tricky. I can barely keep up with him despite all my analytical skills,” his blue eyes shift back to the screen, and Kagami watches him a little longer, noticing how closely Kuroko is analysing everything.

“Right? He’s insane, and he just keeps getting stronger. And the stronger the better,” an excited grin spread over his face, “I love playing against strong opponents, and even if we’re on the same team now, someday we won’t be.”

“It would be nice if you two could play against each other one day, as members of an NBA team,” Kuroko hums, which makes Kagami stop and goggle at him incredulously.

“O-Oi, aren’t you skipping ahead a little? I mean, it’s not like I’m on an official team yet or anything,” he hurries to say, unsure of why hearing someone else speak out loud what he told himself all the time made him so…anxious.

Eyeing him up and down, Kuroko purses his lips before replying, “You don’t strike me as someone who is indecisive. Are you doubting yourself now, after working hard for the past four years?”

“Of course not! I’m gonna do everything I can to make it into the selection! I don’t just want to be the best, I’m gonna be the best!” Kagami exclaims immediately, indignant at such a question being asked of him. There was no way in hell he’d back down now, not after all the harsh training and extra studying he’d been through waiting for this exact opportunity to arise for him.

Kuroko looks at him with that frustratingly blank expression for a moment more, before a small smile settles on his lips. He nods, seemingly pleased with Kagami’s choice of words, “Yes. You should always do your best, Kagami-kun.”

Kagami blinks at him, a strange feeling fluttering in his chest, before he jerks his head away and answers, “Yeah, I know that!”

“That’s good. Try not to forget it,” Kuroko nods approvingly.

“I’m not gonna forget! Just you wait, I’ll show you,” he grumbles, although his mood is undoubtedly lighter than it was before. _Weird. _

“Hey, I just realised your dog isn’t around today. Where is he?” Kagami asked, having just realised he hadn’t been having any unnecessary scares due to that dog sniffing around like it usually did. 

“Nigou went with my grandmother out to the rice fields today. He likes the exercise and can run around as much as he wishes when he’s out there,” Kuroko replied, not taking his eyes off the screen.

“Huh, so that’s where he is,” Kagami nods, feeling relieved the mutt wasn’t hiding anywhere just waiting to pop out.

Kuroko glances at him briefly, his eyes shining a bit more than before, “Thank you for showing concern towards Nigou. I will let him know that you were worried about him.”

“What?! No way! Keep him away from me, he’s annoying!” Kagami protested, glare already in place at the idea he could even be remotely worried about a dog.

Kuroko’s open expression falls flat, his tone unamused, “Kagami-kun, that’s mean.” 

“The hell do I care!” 

“I suppose you have at least accepted Nigou’s existence. So, we have made some progress,” Kuroko sighs, as if he is a teacher that is acknowledging even the slightest effort the laziest student in class has made.

“No, we haven’t!” Kagami retorts back, but Kuroko’s attention is back on the screen again, so he scowls and crosses his arms.

About half an hour and five more videos later, the front door of his grandparents’ house opened, and he recognised the soft voice of his grandmother calling out she was home. Stopping the video they were watching, both Kagami and Kuroko stood to go out and greet her in the kitchen.

“Oh, Tetsuya-chan! How lovely to see you here!” his grandmother beamed, shuffling over closer to Kuroko who readily embraced her in a hug. 

“It’s nice to see you too, Kagami-san,” Kuroko nods politely when he pulls back, and the two exchange chit chat about what has been going on lately. Kagami leaves them to catch up and goes to wash up the cups and plates from their snacks from earlier.

“You know, it’s quite dark now. I’m sure Taiga-chan wouldn’t mind walking you home,” he heard his grandmother call his name, and looks up from where he was drying the plates in shock.

What the hell was this!? His grandparents really favoured Kuroko this much? Asking him to escort the guy home, really? Well…Kuroko was only little, so he supposed he could understand their concern. With his low presence though, it didn’t seem likely that he’d run into any trouble. 

“Thank you very much for the kind offer, but I have to refuse. I am stopping by the shops on my way home to pick up some things for my grandmother, so I do not want to keep Kagami-kun out longer than he needs to be,” Kuroko explains, and Kagami is again surprised at the respect Kuroko shows at all times…to everyone.

“Besides, it is not that late that it’s become pitch dark outside, and I will be home well before it does. Thank you for your concern everyone, but I will be fine,” he bows graciously, then makes his way over to the genkan to put on his shoes. Once he’s done, he stands up and looks to Kagami,“Thank you for today, Kagami-kun. I had fun watching the videos together with you.”

“Huh? Oh, sure. It’s nothin’,” Kagami says, rubbing up the back of his neck awkwardly and giving a jerky nod in Kuroko’s direction. The other boy’s honesty was so direct, it was hard to get used to.

“See you later. Goodnight,” waving goodbye to both of them, Kuroko walks out the door, as if he had never been there in the first place.

“Did you spend some time with Tetsuya-chan today?” his grandmother asks, pulling on her apron and tying up her hair.

Realising he was still staring at the closed door, Kagami shakes himself out of the daze and nods, following her into the kitchen, “Yeah. He showed me his basketball games. They were cool to watch. Y’know, seeing how Kuroko plays with a team and all. He’s a good player, or well…I guess he was. But yeah, it was alright hanging out with him.”

“Oh, I’m so glad to hear that. I hope you two will keep getting along together well,” she murmurs softly, making a start on preparing some dinner for them to eat. 

Kagami watched from the window as Kuroko walked away, his small figure making his way up the path slowly but surely. It was hard to see him, but it was always hard to see Kuroko. He kept popping up out of nowhere, his low presence something Kagami doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to. Taiga would have to keep his eyes on that one, since it was clear to him that Kuroko was someone full of never-ending surprises. 

*

The next time he runs into Kuroko, Kagami is eating lunch at one of the small village restaurants. He was enjoying a big lunch of Japanese food (which was really delicious, he couldn’t deny), when he reached out for his cup of tea and saw Kuroko seated next to him out of the corner of his eye.

“Damn it! Do you do this for fun or something!?” he blusters, pounding on his chest to get the food to go down the right way.

“Of course not. I was sitting here first, you were the one to sit next to me,” Kuroko mutters, twirling some noodles around his chopsticks to eat.

“Man, why are you always by yourself? Don’t you have any friends?” Kagami questioned, leaning on his forearms as he looked at Kuroko across the table.

Kuroko deadpanned, “No, not really.”

_He admitted that so easily! What the hell!?_

“Why? Because you stalk people?” Kagami asked, his own weird attempt to lighten the mood.

But because it’s Kuroko, he gives an answer that Kagami just doesn’t expect, “Maybe.”

_I can’t tell if he’s serious or if he’s messing with me._

“I had a friend. He was my best friend. Ogiwara-kun. I knew him since we were small,” Kuroko explains, his eyes staring off in the distance at something Kagami couldn’t see.

Kagami lifts an eyebrow, intrigued, “What happened?”

“He moved away from the village, somewhere in Kochi Prefecture. We meet up once or twice a year, and keep in touch by email occasionally.”

“Just him?”

“It is hard to make friends when you grow older. A lot of the young people in Kamikatsu move on to higher education and leave, so I rarely get to see them. I play with the younger children sometimes, but I still have to work in the rice fields. I do not get a lot of free time to do as I wish,” Kuroko answers, and yeah, Kagami guesses he can see where he’s coming from. It’s totally different to living in L.A., which is flooding with people and there was no shortage of anyone for Taiga to play basketball with or just hang out with on the weekends if he wanted company. He frowned, not liking the resigned look in Kuroko’s eyes.

Then, Kuroko continued, “That is why I am thankful I have Nigou.”

At the mention of his name, the pup perked up and turned his puppy eyes – very much like Kuroko’s eyes – upon the boy in question. Smiling, he patted Nigou gently on his head, much to the delight of the pup. Kagami felt a weird swirling in his stomach, that wouldn’t go away. Even when he stopped looking at the dog, it still persisted.

“A dog can’t be your friend, stupid,” Kagami dismissed, scoffing at the very idea.

Kuroko tilted his head in that questioning way of his, “Why not?”

“Dogs are pets, they can’t talk back to you,” he reasoned, ignoring the fact that dogs communicated their affection in other ways. That was beside the point!

“Nigou is a very good and loyal companion. He will always be with me,” Kuroko argues back, scratching behind Nigou’s ears and _damn it,_ Kagami can’t take this anymore.

“Idiot, what the hell am I?”

“Eh?”

“You tellin’ me that I’m not your friend? I thought we were friends from the start!”

Kuroko’s big blue eyes widened, making them somehow even bluer and _wow, that was a weird thought._ Kagami shook his head, then looked back to see Kuroko had stilled in petting Nigou and the pup was now whining softly.

“We _are_ friends, okay? I mean, don’t get me wrong, you’re kinda weird. You hardly have any facial expression, and you do that creepy disappearing act – but you’re cool. You like basketball and you-you’re good at it, okay? I thought you were all talk but you proved me wrong. You know how to stand up for yourself, and that’s huge. Not everyone can do that, y’know.”

It was true. Despite all of Kuroko’s quirks, Kagami had come to consider the oddball his kind of friend. In this small village where Taiga was awkward and didn’t quite fit in, Kuroko was there to help. The guy was easy to talk to, and if he was honest, he enjoyed being in his company. He felt at ease around him.

“I’m sorry, Kagami-kun. That was rude of me,” Kuroko amends, his voice softer than Kagami thinks he has ever heard it. When they look at each other, he sees added energy in Kuroko’s face, “I consider you my friend, too.”

“Good. Don’t forget, got it?” Kagami responds, echoing Kuroko’s words to him the other night.

And Kuroko remembers it too, if his small smile is anything to go by, “I won’t.”

“Uh, actually my grams made some dessert that she wanted me to take over to your place,” Kagami rifles through his backpack, showing Kuroko the multiple containers he had been tasked with to deliver safely, “so, when you’re done, I’ll walk back with you.”

“How fortunate. You will finally be able to meet my grandmother,” Kuroko mused aloud, and Kagami’s brain screeches to a halt.

“Wait, what!?”

“There is nothing to be nervous about. She is just an old lady, and he is very nice,” Kuroko tries to reassure him, but it does little to soothe Kagami’s nerves.

“Y-Yeah, but. I dunno, I don’t wanna like, intrude on your place or whatever,” he mumbled, and really, he just hated first meetings and the awkwardness of it all. Introducing himself, stumbling over his words and trying to correct himself, it was all too much of a hassle.

Kuroko shakes his head gently, “Nonsense, Kagami-kun. You are welcome to come over whenever you like, and I’m sure after she meets you, my grandmother will tell you the same.”

“Alright, alright. Guess I’ll say a quick hello and give her the stuff, since it’s only right I do the job properly,” and with that settled, the two of them go back to finishing their lunch so they can head back over to Kuroko’s place.

When they get there, after Kuroko opens the door to let them in, Kagami is greeted by the sight of an elderly woman cleaning in the hallway. Setting her rag down, she greets Kuroko with a hug and then turns to Kagami, who straightens under her similar blue, wide-eyed gaze.

“You must be Kagami-kun, am I right?” The old woman looked up at him kindly, her eyes closing and wrinkles forming crows’ feet around the edges. It was a warm look, similar to the one that he recognised on his own grandmother. _Are grandmothers always like this?_ He wondered.

Remembering his manners, he bowed his head and hastily replied, “Y-Yes! It’s nice to meet you, ma’am! Good morning!”

“Kagami-kun, it’s already afternoon,” Kuroko interjected, and with those words Kagami flushed red.

“Ah, damn – I mean, I’m sorry! Good afternoon! These are for you, from my grams and gramps,” Kagami fishes out all the containers, presenting them to Kuroko’s grandmother hastily to cover up the faults in his speech.

“Good afternoon, dear,” she answered, smiling at him and furthering his embarrassment, “Thank you so much for bringing these over. Please thank your grandparents for me as well, they are always much too kind to us. Come inside, I’ll prepare us some tea.”

Once they were all seated with their cups of tea in the living room, Kuroko’s grandmother starts up a conversation, “Tet-chan has told me so much about you. Do you really play basketball professionally over in the States?” She questioned, peering at him curiously in startling similarity to Kuroko.

Kagami nods, a little too enthusiastically, but just goes with it, “Ah, yes! Well, I am playing on my university team and I’m being considered for a national contract. I’ve been selected into the pool of potential athletes but nothing is guaranteed yet.”

“It is very impressive! We could hardly believe our ears to hear a basketball star was staying in Kamikatsu,” her praise is so genuine and earnest, it makes Kagami look down at his tea sheepishly.

“I-I’m not that good, I still have a lot of stuff to learn and, well. I can always increase my skills!”

“You have achieved much at such a young age, but you’re still so modest. How admirable.”

“No, really. I’m not the best or anything. There’s this guy I know who has so much talent, it’s crazy. Even if he is such a lazy bas-guy! Such a lazy guy!” he thought he covered up his slip of the tongue pretty well, but catches Kuroko smiling from the corner of his eye and wants to bury his face in his hands.

“Your grandparents are good people, too. You have kindness in your family, so it is only natural for you, dear,” she hums, bringing her cup up to her lips and taking a sip daintily.

“I’m really glad I came to see Grams and Gramps,” Kagami says, and he means it. More and more, he’s thanking himself for taking the leap and making the trip all the way over here.

“They are grateful too, I’m sure. Whenever I see them in town, they always have such lovely stories about you. I think they quite adore you,” Kuroko’s grandmother smiled sweetly at him, patting his knee lightly and causing him to become embarrassed once more.

_So this is where Kuroko gets it from?_ Even so, Kuroko was in a league of his own. At least his grandmother was smiling when she said such honest words, gentle and soft. Kuroko just said embarrassing things easily, bluntly, with minimal facial change at all. His straightforwardness was truly impressive.

They chatted for a little while longer until they finished the tea, and Kagami had to excuse himself as he had to get home to help his grandfather with something on the computer.

Kuroko escorts him on his way out, and when they are at the genkan, he offered Kagami some comfort, “Don’t worry. My grandmother likes you, Kagami-kun.”

That drew Kagami’s attention, his head whipping up comically as he gawked at Kuroko, “Are you for real? Don’t mess with me, Kuroko.”

“No, it’s true. My grandmother is a good judge of people. She wouldn’t talk to you if she thought you were a bad person.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Yes. Besides, it would be hard for anyone to truly dislike Kagami-kun,” Kuroko responds in that cryptic way of his, which makes Kagami squint at him uncertainly.

“H-Hey! What are you saying, huh?”

“Even though you seem hot-headed and arrogant at first, it is just your passionate nature shining through. It’s a good thing,” and then, Kuroko sends him a soft smile that…Kagami can’t stop looking at.

Something he’d come to notice was that Kuroko looked totally different when he smiled. His whole face brightened up, and it was impossible for Kagami to not see that smile when it was right in front of him. Even if Kuroko was practically invisible most of the time, Kagami doesn’t think he has such a weak presence when he smiles. He actually…shines a lot brighter.

Not like a shadow at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter received no comments. If you can, I would really appreciate it if you would leave me a comment on what you think about this story. I work very hard on it, so I really want to know if you guys are enjoying it or if I can improve on anything. 
> 
> Thank you for reading, see you next time x


	5. Home is where?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to all my subscribers! You are all sweet dumplings and I'm really thankful for all of you! Also thanking my regular and new readers, thank you lovelies for choosing this story!

It was mid-morning and Taiga was working in his grandparents’ garden, shovelling down fresh new soil his grandfather had bought recently to put over the dead patches they had lying around. Taiga had offered to do it when he was helping his grandfather bring the heavy packages of soil back home. His back was in a much better state and he could get it done in half the time, plus it was a different form of exercise that would be taxing on his body as well as helpful to his grandparents. So, they had allowed him to do so, and he was almost done, when suddenly several loud yips made him fumble with the shovel, losing the soil off it completely.

“Shit! Nigou!” Kagami shrieks, his body jolting at the suddenness of the dog. Well, if Nigou was here then that meant Kuroko was surely there too. And sure enough, after scanning his eyes back and forth, he catches sight of Kuroko standing just a few metres away blinking at him. How Kuroko managed it Kagami had no clue, but he really wished he could start getting used to it already. Sighing, he goes back to shovelling the dirt while Kuroko stood there silently, “What’re you doing, Kuroko? You need somethin’?”

“I am here to return the containers from the desserts your grandmother kindly baked for us,” the other boy said, holding out the neatly stacked containers in his hands.

Wiping some of the sweat off his brow, Kagami peered at him and his eyes lit in recognition, “Oh, you’re done with them? Cool, you can take ‘em inside if you want.”

“Pardon the intrusion,” Kuroko excused himself as he entered the small house, and Taiga continued working. He was wearing a loose, black sleeveless t-shirt with some jeans and a cap on his head (since his grandmother scolded him for not protecting himself better under the sun, which he was now grateful for).

He vaguely noted Kuroko sitting down on the back step of the house, watching Kagami work for a moment, before he asks, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Nah, I’m almost done here. Besides, you just keep an eye on that mutt over there,” Kagami jerks his head over in the direction of Nigou, who was sniffing around and exploring his grandmother’s azalea flowers, “If he sneaks up on me again, I might end up stepping on him.”

“Kagami-kun wouldn’t be so cruel to do that. Instead, you will probably run away, even though Nigou really wants to be friends with you,” Nigou looks up when he hears Kuroko call his name, wagging his tail, but goes back to the flowers when he sees he’s not needed for anything.

Sighing heavily and dropping his shoulders, Kagami shovels more soil as he replies, “Look, I can tolerate his presence without freaking out too much now. Isn’t that enough?”

Apparently, this wasn’t good enough for Kuroko, evidenced by his resolute answer, “I will try harder to help Kagami-kun and Nigou become closer.”

“Man, you’re dreaming if you think that’s gonna happen,” shaking his head, Kagami hides the amused smirk he’s wearing as he bends over to pat down the soil.

He continued doing this for about 15 minutes and then, he was all done. Satisfied at finally completing his task, he heaved a relieved sigh and put the shovel away. He stretched his arms up over his head, and cricked his neck from side to side.

“Ah, it’s hot! I’m gonna sit down for a bit,” he collapsed down beside Kuroko on the step, leaning back on his hands and resting his body. Even though it wasn’t really a hot day, Kagami had worked up a sweat from his shovelling in the garden.

“I know a place that serves some flavoured shaved ice. It isn’t too far. Would you like to go?” Kuroko offered, Nigou sitting nicely by his feet and Kagami thinks the mutt isn’t so bad when he’s still.

“Hell yeah! I’m all sweaty and definitely need a break,” Taiga cheered, perking up (as usual) at the mention of food.

“We can wait a bit if Kagami-kun would like to rest a bit longer,” and Kagami is sort of touched at Kuroko’s consideration, when surely he must be bored sitting around not doing anything.

“Nah, I should really stretch my legs before I cramp up. Let’s go,” coming to a stand, Taiga waits for Kuroko to be ready and soon enough they’re on their way. He tells Nigou to stay and wait for them to come back, to which the dog lifts his head in acknowledgment, then goes back to resting. Well, at least Kuroko could get him to be obedient if he ever needed to.

“You know, there was something else I noticed about your basketball,” Kuroko said casually, and Kagami wouldn’t deny he was kind of interested to hear more about what Kuroko thought. He was blunt with Kagami in a way that a lot of people weren’t or chose not to be.

So, Kagami puffs his chest and asks without hesitation, “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“Kagami-kun makes the most of both his natural talent as well as the hard work and effort that comes from years of practice. However, you are doing too many things by yourself,” and of course, Kuroko is upfront like usual.

Kagami doesn’t react right away, so Kuroko takes that a sign to keep going, “For a player like me, it’s vital that my teammates pass the ball to each other. It’s important to be able to trust in each other to make the next move, that you are all working towards the same goal. Naturally, there are some players on a team that shine brighter than others, and I think that is true for you.”

Kuroko pauses for a minute, and they continue walking down the winding path to the shaved ice shop – wherever it was. Then, having gathered his thoughts, Kuroko looks directly at Taiga as he continues, “But you can’t play basketball alone. What is the point of being in a team if you only trust and rely on yourself in a game?”

“Man, not you too,” Kagami sighed, pinching his nose as a guilty embarrassment filtered through him. Was it really that obvious even to Kuroko? A guy he had just met that had watched some videos of his games a few days ago?

“My dad, my coach, even that jerk Aomine…they all told me the same thing,” noticing Kuroko’s questioning gaze, Kagami continued, “The reason I came to Japan was because I got given a compulsory two-month break before the draft.”

Smiling sardonically at his situation, Kagami chuckled wryly, “Instead of training harder than I ever have before in my life, I’m here. With no hoops, no real court, and no team. Even though it’s supposed to be my time off, it’s so damn hard to relax right now.”

“So, in the time you have been here so far, have you begun to realise the value of having a team behind you?” Kuroko queried as they walked into the shopping district, scrutinizing Taiga in that weird _(annoyingly effective)_ way of his.

Squinting his eyes, Taiga shrugs half-heartedly, “I mean, I guess…”

Words like ‘bad attitude’ and ‘obnoxious’ and ‘anger issues’ seemed to follow Kagami wherever he went, ever since he had been a teenager. He hadn’t been the kind of student that teachers would refer back on fondly, which didn’t matter to him, but it was really crappy that as a kid he heard adults talk shit about him to each other behind his back.

It had become kind of necessary that Kagami only looked out for himself, since there was no way in hell anyone else was gonna do it. Sure, he had a few good friends now and he always had his dad, but it was hard to unlearn something Kagami had grown up with. He knew he could be really selfish and arrogant, which could really screw him over in certain situations – like forming a bond with his team, and in general just normal social interactions.

Taiga was jarred out of his introspective thoughts when he felt bony fingers jab at his ribs, digging into his skin so sharply and unexpectedly that he doubled over in pain.

“Ow! What was that for, you bastard?” he hissed, rubbing at his ribcage to try and soothe some of the pain inflicted by Kuroko – his so-called friend.

“I don’t like your hesitancy. You will have to try harder until you can really understand that playing basketball by yourself does not work,” Kuroko told him, unusually stern.

It was almost as if he was scolding Taiga, which was ridiculous and yet Taiga couldn’t help but feel like he really _did_ need to put more effort into this trip. _Damn Kuroko, he’s making me act out of character. He’s not the boss of me!_

Just as Kagami was about to open his mouth and say exactly that, he was interrupted by the sound of someone screaming at the top of their lungs:

“KUROKO NII-CHAN!!”

And then, a bunch of kids are running up to Kuroko, all of them fresh-faced and bright-eyed. Though there were kids around in L.A. (obviously), Kagami never really saw them around much. He hadn’t interacted with a kid in…maybe a few years? He just had nothing to do with them, had no reason to be around them, and so he was kind of freaking out seeing all of the children in front of him now.

“Hello Shoichi-kun, Kirin-chan, Kota-kun, Chiyo-chan, and Ren-kun,” Kuroko greets them all individually, showing them a gentle smile that Kagami had not seen on him before, “Have you all been doing well?”

“Yeah! We’re good, and we wanted to come and see you!” a boy with reddish-brown hair speaks first, grinning up at Kuroko happily.

“It’s been so long since we last saw you, Kuroko-nii,” one of the girls said, and this one has chestnut hair, as well as a much more relaxed disposition about her.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been showing around my new friend, so I haven’t had time to see you all again yet. I was definitely planning to later this week, though. It looks like you have beat me to it,” Kuroko told them, his tone so full of patience and understanding.

A little girl with strawberry blonde hair gawks up at Taiga in awe, “S-So tall!”

“Whoa! You look like Ichigo!” the same boy with reddish-brown hair declares, staring up at him with sparkles in his eyes.

“Haah!!?” Kagami shouted, completely baffled at such a weird, random comparison.

“Kurosaki Ichigo. He’s the main character from the manga series _Bleach._ It’s quite popular throughout Japan,” Kuroko explained curtly, which only served to heighten Kagami’s frustration.

“I know who he is, damn it!” he tells Kuroko indignantly, then he turns back to the kids, “I look nothin’ like him! He’s got orange hair!”

“Your hair is kinda orange!” one of them argues, this time the boy that spoke had sandy brown hair, pointing up at his head and making all the others nod agreeably.

“It’s red! And I got some black here, see?” Kagami distinguishes between the two different shades of his hair, tilting his head so the kids could see for themselves.

“This is Kagami-kun. He is the grandson of the Kagami-sans’, visiting from America,” Kuroko goes ahead and introduces him to these kids he’s never seen before, and Taiga is subject to them gaping at him excitedly.

“Wow! America!” one of the girls squeals – she had strawberry blonde hair – clasping her hands together in front of herself and looking like she was buzzing on the spot, “Did you fly in a plane? I’ve never been in a plane before!”

“Hold on a moment. I think everyone should introduce themselves to Kagami-kun first, so please take it turns and tell him your name,” stepping back as he makes the suggestion to them all, Kuroko nods encouragingly and that seems to be all the incentive they need to start.

“I’m Shoichi!” it was the boy with reddish-brown hair, which was spiky at the top. He seemed to have no problem being the first to introduce himself to a stranger. _Looks like he’s got the most confidence, not bad._

“And I’m Kirin!” the girl with strawberry blonde hair tied in a plait called out, raising her arm as high as it could. She seemed competitive, but not in a bad way – and Kagami could respect competitiveness in anyone, seeing as how he was overflowing with it when it came to basketball.

“Me next! I’m Kota!” the boy with sandy brown hair spoke up, and when he smiled Kagami could see he was missing one of his top teeth. _Ah, I remember when I would get a loose tooth as a kid,_ Kagami thought to himself, somewhat nostalgically.

“My name is Chiyo,” the girl with chestnut hair tied in two pigtails said softly, waving up at Kagami politely. Weirdly, she reminded him a little of Kuroko. _Way too calm at her age though, geez. _

“I’m R-Ren,” the littlest one spoke up, and he had black hair with eyes to match. He seemed especially timid, so Kagami really had to try hard not to be too ‘scary’ to them.

“Er, nice to meet all of you,” Kagami went with, bowing his head to all of them.

“Are you a fireman?” Chiyo asked curiously, and the rest of them stared in renewed wonder at Kagami.

“Huh? No, I play basketball. I’m a basketball player!” Taiga enunciates, and after a short pause, they all turn starry-eyed again.

“Wow! Basketball!” Kirin cheers, throwing her little hands up as high as they would go.

Shoichi started tugging at Taiga’s jeans, grinning up at him hopefully, “Hey, hey, will you play with us?”

“Can you teach us basketball?” Chiyo asked in her quiet voice, but there was determination painted all over her face.

“Please?” the little one who hadn’t really spoken much until now – Ren – begged him with his eyes alone. All big and pleading and…was that the start of tears Kagami could see!?

“Alright, alright! But, not today!” Taiga relented, but he had to draw a line somewhere.

There was no way he could say no to the kids – and definitely _not_ to their faces – but he needed time to prepare himself and figure out what the hell he was gonna do with them. They obviously wouldn’t be able to keep up with the kind of drills and the level Taiga was at now, so he would have to backtrack and plan things at a simpler level.

“Awwww, why not?” all of them say at the same time, and Kagami suppresses a wince. For some reason, just now he’s feels like he’s being ‘the bad guy’.

So, instead, he offers a compromise: “It’s getting late, so go home and we can play on Friday, okay?”

“Friday? But it’s so far away,” Kota complains, pouting. By the looks on the rest of their faces, the other kids agree with him.

“Kagami-kun is right. It is not good if we play when the sun is setting, we won’t be able to see anything,” Kuroko interjected gently, capturing their attention so quickly and easily, “And we need time to prepare everything. You understand, don’t you?”

“Yep! We understand, Kuroko nii-chan!” they all chanted back to him, and Kagami was inwardly impressed at Kuroko’s ability to appease them with just a few words.

Kuroko smiled again, looking pleased, “Okay. What are you all going to do now?”

“We’re gonna go to Chiyo’s house and play on her swings and her cubby house!” Kirin declared enthusiastically, to which Kuroko nodded. 

“Alright. Be careful on your way,” he waves them off as they all start to hurry away on their tiny legs.

“We will! Bye Kuroko-nii! Bye Ichigo!” Shoichi yelled loudly, and the others copied him of course which irked Kagami further.

“It’s not Ichigo! It’s Kagami! Ka-ga-mi!” he shouted back, frustrated when they only giggled in response and slowly disappeared around the corner, “Geez, how old are they, anyway? Should they really be out by themselves?”

Kuroko stared at the corner for a little bit longer, then glanced at Kagami and they were on their way again, “Kota and Ren are 5 years old, and the others are 6 years old. There’s no need to worry about them, they are safe as long as they stick to the main roads in Kamikatsu, which they do. They are all good kids, and everyone keeps an eye on them when we can.”

Taiga hummed in understanding, “Yeah, you seemed pretty close with them. They were calling you ‘nii-chan’.”

“I play with them whenever I have some free time, though it’s more going on walks or playing with Nigou. Sometimes, if it’s a rainy or windy day, we draw and colour inside.”

“Well, I just met them. Why are they all over _me?” _Kagami complains, not used to high level energy that came with being around a bunch of kids.

Kuroko chuckles lightly, “You are a new face, which is easy to spot in a place like this. Also, you are quite striking to look at compared to the typical Japanese people that live here in Kamikatsu. It’s obvious that they are drawn to you.”

“I can’t just change my appearance! Am I really that funny to look at? Geez, they’re too easily amused,” frazzled at being the subject of children’s amusement, Taiga huffs irately.

“There’s nothing wrong with how you look, Kagami-kun. Not in the slightest,” is what Kuroko responds with, his honest blue eyes blinking over at Taiga so innocently that he has to look away before he does something stupid…like blush or speak gibberish.

“Whatever,” Kagami grumbled, then turns to Kuroko curiously, “Anyway, you free tomorrow? I want to run by some ideas with you about what we can do with them, and two hands are better than one.”

“You mean, ‘two heads are better than one’,” Kuroko corrects him, and before Kagami can lose his temper at him, Kuroko added, “and I’m sorry, I actually won’t be free until Friday. I am working with my grandmother in the rice fields tomorrow and the next day.”

“Oh, right,” scratching at his cheek, Taiga awkwardly suggests, “Hey, would you, uh, need another pair of hands?”

“Excuse me?”

“In the rice fields, would you and your granny mind if I helped out? I mean, you’re probably gonna have to explain a lot of it to me on the day, but I can help with the heavy lifting and stuff. And that way we can just talk about drills and stuff that’ll work well with the kids, y’know?” Taiga knows he’s babbling, but he doesn’t know why he’s getting so worked up over a simple question.

He just really wanted to help Kuroko with this. Training and exercising by himself was good and all, but even he got sick of doing the same thing every day. Also, he could learn more about what it’s like working in the rice fields, more about what Kuroko’s life was like.

“That would be wonderful, Kagami-kun,” Kuroko says kindly, the surprise and appreciation evident in his tone and painted all over his face, “Thank you for willingness to help. Please come to our rice fields any time after 6 AM.”

*

Kagami was no stranger to waking up early, so being awake at 5:30 in the morning wasn’t that big of a deal to him. If it was Aomine, it would be a whole other story. Thankfully, though, as lazy as he could be sometimes, Kagami would never reach the ‘Aomine-level’ of laziness. He decides to dress in a similar fashion to what he remembers Kuroko did when he saw him in the rice fields. Instead of long-sleeve, full length overalls though, Taiga dresses in his grey long-sleeved sport shirt paired with his black tracksuit pants and an old pair of his grandfather’s gumboots (thank god they wore similar sizes).

When he arrives at the rice field, he is greeted by Kuroko’s grandmother, dressed in full overalls and the traditional bamboo hat already, “Good morning, Kagami-chan.”

“Yeah. G-Good morning, ma’am,” he blushes a faintly at the ‘-chan’ but nods respectfully to her, and she gives him a smile in return.

“To start with, would you be able to help me with moving the seedling trays back at our house? Tet-chan is probably driving over the rice planting machine so we can get the seedlings ready while we wait for him to come back,” she asked him courteously, pulling on her gloves.

“Sure, no problem,” Kagami agrees, and they hop into the nearby truck to make the short drive back to the house.

Once there, they make their way out to the greenhouse where the seedling boxes are stored, and Taiga starts hefting them all onto the truck. Meanwhile, Kuroko’s grandmother keeps track of how many are going out and how many are staying in. When they get back, Kuroko is already there and they all start to help move the seedling trays from the truck over to the rice planting machine.

Kagami’s grandmother had told him that each field takes about 2 hours to plant rice in a single rice field. Since Kuroko’s family had 6 rice fields, it would take around 12 hours all up. So far, Kuroko and his grandmother had done 3 of the rice fields, and they would finish the fourth one today – with Kagami’s help. He mostly assisted with the heavy lifting and simple tasks, leaving driving the machine to Kuroko and all the statistical details to Kuroko’s grandmother.

Throughout the morning, Taiga had been occasionally watching Kuroko, and was silently amazed at his dedication. Kuroko didn’t really talk about the rice fields with him a lot, or rice planting in general, so Taiga didn’t really know how he felt about them. Was it something he enjoyed, or did Kuroko see it more as a duty of his? Was it something he was good at but didn’t actually like? It had been a while since Kagami had been so curious like this, but he really wanted to know.

A chance came when later, after all the planting was done. He and Kuroko were washing out the seedling trays, while Kuroko’s grandmother was entering all the data online and taking care of the business-y like stuff. Neither of them was talking at the moment, but Taiga thought it was the perfect opportunity to start a conversation with him about it.

So, Kagami eyed Kuroko for a good minute before speaking up, “Do you like this?”

“Excuse me?” Kuroko questioned, peering out from under his broad-brimmed hat that covered his face.

“I mean, do you always wanna work in these rice fields? Don’t you ever, I dunno, wanna go out and see the world? Beyond this?” Kagami gestured wide with his arms, thinking about his own travel experiences. He couldn’t say they were diverse, consisting of either Japan or America, but he’d been to a bunch of cities and towns in America. And more places in Japan than Kuroko had been, probably.

Humming, Kuroko looked down at the seedling tray he was scrubbing as if it was listening, “I do like working in the rice fields. It is something my family has given me, and I always feel comfort when I harvest the rice grains at the end.”

Well, that answered some of Taiga’s questions. Kuroko did like what he was doing, which filled Kagami with a sort of relief, because well…the notion that Kuroko might be unhappy felt…not right, somehow.

However, Kuroko looked like he had more to say, and sure enough, he hesitantly continued, “Yet, I admit that I do want to travel to different countries in the world. I want to leave Kamikatsu, sometimes.”

Ruby eyes widen at the confession, and whilst Taiga didn’t think it was unexpected, it was kind of surprising. Not the fact that Kuroko wanted those things, but the fact that he looked so guilty for wanting them. He sounded more uncomfortable than Taiga had ever heard him sound before, almost troubled at his own thoughts and desires.

“It’s selfish of me, isn’t it?” Kuroko added, frowning, and Kagami gawked.

“No way! That’s not selfish at all!” he exclaimed, unintentionally raising his voice.

“I-I mean, er, what I mean is,” clearing his throat, Kagami started over, “Having your own wants is important too. Even if it feels like you’re letting down your family, it’s not wrong to have them.”

“I can’t help feeling guilty when I do,” Kuroko admitted, as if he was on trial for his own feelings.

“Don’t.”

Kuroko looks up with surprised eyes at Kagami’s adamant tone, and their gazes locked. Kagami’s face was schooled in a serious expression, his eyebrows furrowed as he continued, “You’re not living for them, right? It’s your life, so you should live how you want. Everyone has obligations and stuff, but if you let that take over your life then it’s heading in no direction.”

“Doing what other people want, or what you think they want, won’t make anyone happy. You’ve gotta look out for you, or who else will?”

Maybe it was arrogant of Kagami saying all this, and maybe Kuroko would think (probably already did think) he was a selfish person, coming from a western country where the emphasis on family and sacrifice dwindles in comparison to focusing on oneself first and foremost. But, for crying out loud, he couldn’t let Kuroko go on thinking he was being a bad person for wanting such things! Everyone wanted that, everyone wanted to see the world and experience cultures and people different to those they have known most of their lives.

Kuroko for his part, is staring at Kagami, silent and wide-eyed and thoughtful. He had gotten the gist that Kuroko was the type of guy to think a lot, mulling things over and analysing every detail, so he needed time to digest and absorb what Taiga was saying. So, Taiga went back to cleaning the trays, ignoring his urge to sneak glances at Kuroko to try and figure out what he was thinking.

“I have never thought about it like that,” Kuroko murmurs aloud to himself after a while. Then he puts the seedling tray he’s holding down, straightens and bows to Kagami, his voice full of nothing but gratitude, “You have given me a lot to think about. Thank you for sharing your wisdom, Kagami-kun.”

“I-It’s not like I’m that worldly either, y’know! I’ve only been to Japan and the U.S. Though I’m a bit more familiar with America since I lived there for longer,” Kagami explained hurriedly, not wanting to give Kuroko the wrong idea. He was in no way wise, in any shape or form.

Kuroko hummed again, bending over to work again but still continuing the conversation, “Do you miss being there?”

“Yeah, I mean I miss the ocean,” Kagami scruffed up the back of his head, messing up his hair, as he tried to ignore the uncomfortable weight currently sitting in his chest.

“Ocean?” Kuroko parroted, clearly wanting some further clarification.

“Yeah, you know the beaches. Riding the waves, and the blaring sun. I love surfing.” It was true. Taiga had grown a passion for surfing that was only second to basketball (but then again, most things in his life did come second to basketball – only a select few were special enough to come first).

Shaking his head, Kuroko responded, “I have never tried it.”

“Really? It’s fun, you should come to the U.S. sometime and I’ll teach you,” Taiga suggested, and he wasn’t even saying it half-heartedly. If Kuroko wanted to come to America, he’d gladly show him around. Even though they’ve only known each other for just over two and a half weeks, it feels like they just have this…connection.

“I would be honoured to see Kagami-kun’s home,” Kuroko says, as kind and polite as ever.

Kagami flinched at the word though and wondered what was going on with him. He was being stupid. His home had always been the U.S. His basketball was born there, he created his dreams there. It was where he belonged. A comfortable silence returned to them after that, as they continued to scrub and stack the clean seedling trays.

He couldn’t stop thinking, however, that the way he said ‘home’ sounded so different to Kuroko.

*

It was Friday, which meant that it was time for the ‘play date’ with the kids. Kagami arrives first and separately (since Kuroko had arranged to bring all of the kids along) having brought two of his basketballs along as well as a sports bag full of markers for drills. When they arrive at the long stretch of gravelly road – their makeshift basketball court – the kids all greet Kagami loudly and start playing with Nigou, who is revelling under all the attention. Frowning, Kagami tries to spot where Kuroko is.

“Hello, Kagami-kun,” a familiar voice says at his side, and he can’t hide the way his body jolts at Kuroko’s trademark suddenness.

“U-Uwah! When did you get there?” he asked, but he no longer needs an answer – Kuroko always says the same thing, that he was there all along – so Kagami moves on, “ah, whatever. I got the balls and was just about to set out the markers. Wanna help?”

“Of course,” Kuroko answers, and Kagami gets out the basketballs and passes the marker cones to Kuroko as they start to set things up.

When they were ready, Kuroko called for the kids’ attention, “Alright, everyone. We are just about ready to begin. Please come in closer so we can explain everything to you first.”

Like obedient puppies, they all run over and form a small half circle around Kagami and Kuroko, looking up with their ‘listening’ faces on.

“Before we have a game, we need to practice some skills together,” Kuroko instructed, “Kagami-kun and I will show you all some warm up exercises and drills that will help you when we start playing in games. We will practice bouncing the ball and walking in and out of these marker cones. This is called dribbling, and Kagami-kun will help you with this. Also, you will learn how to pass the ball and bounce-pass the ball. That will be with me, over here.”

“If you guys all do well, we can even have a go at a mini-game at the end. Sound good?” Kagami asked, picking up one of the basketballs and spinning it on his finger, feeling the typical excitement he always did when it came to basketball – even basketball with little kids.

They all nod at him vigorously, “Yeah!”

“Alright, let’s get started!” he declares, tossing the ball up in the air and catching it, much to their delight.

Once they were split into two groups (two with Kagami to start, and three with Kuroko), they went about teaching and practicing together. They were slow, and they fumbled the ball more often than not (Taiga surely got his exercise running after the ball and bringing it back countless time), but they were persistent little things. They practiced for about half an hour before the groups switched, so the two kids went over to Kuroko and the three kids came over to Kagami.

After another 30 minutes passed, Kagami had to admit he was seeing some improvements with them. They were all getting a little more used to handling the ball, not dropping it as often as they had at the start. Since they had all tried their best, Kagami and Kuroko had rewarded them with two mini games after completing all their drills and exercises. When they're done, they all help pack up and walk back into the main area of Kamikatsu, making sure the kids get back safely.

“Can we play again soon?” Chiyo asked him as soon as they finished, tugging at his shorts.

“Yeah, yeah! I love basketball!” Kirin chimed in with a giggle, linking hands with Chiyo and swinging them back and forth happily.

“Sure, I’m always down for playing a game. Even if it’s with tiny hedgehogs like you guys,” Kagami said, grinning down at them all cockily which elicited a string of whines.

“Hey! We’re not hedgehogs!” Kota protested, pouting grumpily up at Kagami which almost makes him burst out in laughter. _Man, kids are just so easy to tease._

“We all finished everything you told us to! What do we get now?” Shoichi asked, and the teasing was forgotten as the others looked up at him expectantly.

“Uh, um,” Kagami panicked, not having planned for prizes and wondering what the hell he was gonna do now. Then, an idea popped into his head. It was simple, but hopefully it would work.

“How ‘bout this? High five?” Kagami offered hastily, crouching down to their level and hastily holding out his hand.

“Yay!” they all cheered, and Taiga breathed a silent sigh of relief. _Thank god these guys aren’t so materialistic,_ he thinks to himself.

Shoichi high fives his hand as hard as he can, which isn’t very hard, but Taiga tries to make it look like it almost threw him off balance. Kirin skips up to him and jumps up to high five him. Kota runs up to him all excited, then stops for a moment to stare very hard at Kagami’s hand. It was only when he was giving Taiga the high five that he realised Kota was trying to focus on his hand so he wouldn’t miss it. Chiyo is next, and she hurries over to him, giving his hand a normal high five, and she smiles up at him afterwards. Then, there is Ren, who is shuffling nervously closer to Kagami.

Ren looks at his hand for a few seconds, then looks up at Kagami shyly and reaches out to tap his small hand against Kagami’s huge one. It was the softest high five Kagami had ever received (or given…well, not really, he didn’t even move his hand at all), but the smile on Ren’s face after was as wide as if it was the biggest high five in the world.

“See you, Kagami nii-chan!” Shoichi called out with a wave as they all run off, and the others mimicked him – both his words and his actions.

“N-Nii-chan?” Taiga repeats, eyes widening at the unexpected and affectionate nickname.

“It seems you have already endeared yourself to them. That’s great. I never knew you had such a good way with children,” Kuroko offers him a smile, amusement shining in his eyes.

“The hell I do! I never talk to kids!” Kagami objected, sighing harshly and running a hand through his hair, “I don’t have any siblings either, so I never really spent time with anyone younger than me.”

“Don’t worry. Just keep being yourself, and it will be fine,” Kuroko reassured him, giving an affirmative nod as well.

Kagami screwed his face up, not getting it, “What does that mean?”

“Children can see through acts, you know. Since Kagami-kun is unapologetically honest, you won’t have any problems with them,” Kuroko explained, always seeming to have an answer for everything.

“I just met them! Why are they acting like we’re so close?” Kagami said gruffly, trying to hide how it affected him, “Geez, I thought they’d be scared of me. Especially that Ren kid, he really surprised me there. I’m not really a warm person so I don’t get it at all.”

“Although Kagami-kun seems unapproachable and distant at first, you are actually very kind-hearted. I think you have a wrong interpretation of yourself in that sense,” Kuroko said, and as usual, Kagami fumbled when he was given genuine comments such as this one. He ignored the way his heart beat a little bit faster, and decided it was time to shift the focus off himself.

“Well, I think you’re way better with them than I am,” he shrugged, readjusting the sports bag on his shoulder.

“When I was younger, I wanted to become a preschool teacher,” Kuroko says softly, like it’s a secret being exchanged between them, and it takes Kagami aback.

“Eh? Seriously?”

Kuroko nods, “Yes. For some reason, my low presence is ineffective when it comes to children. They notice me all the time, and I can never be forgotten when I am with them,” Kagami never really considered it before, but if he was in Kuroko’s shoes, it would really suck having such a low presence around people. Everyone wants to be noticed and acknowledged sometimes. Kuroko calls for Nigou when he spends too long sniffing around some pebbles so he isn’t left behind, “Since they are always so eager for attention, I suppose they can see everyone no matter how small or weak they might be.”

“You’re not weak,” Kagami interjects, immediately disliking hearing that word fall from Kuroko’s own lips. He received a quizzical expression in return, which makes Kagami’s hackles rise up, “What? You’re not!”

“I was wrong when I said that. I mean, you work in the rice fields with your granny basically every day, you help people out around here, you play with the kids whenever they want, and you even made time to show around a stranger from America. You hang out with me when you don’t even have to.”

Kuroko stares up at him, face inscrutable as he says honestly, “I like spending time with you, Kagami-kun.”

_Shit._ Kagami can feel his ears getting hot, and he’s pretty sure they must be bright red right now. Kuroko was just as direct as he was, the only difference being that Kuroko let this directness show in everything. When it came to his feelings, Kagami tended to put up a bit of barrier, embarrassed whenever he got emotional about stuff.

“Yeah, well, my point is that you’re not invisible. Even if it’s hard to notice you sometimes, you’re impossible to ignore. Trust me, I know,” he says, rubbing at his face to try and hide the redness that was spreading to his cheeks.

“Is that so?” Kuroko asks in that cryptic way of his, the tone of voice that totally baffles Kagami as to what is really going on inside his head.

“Think you’ll ever become one someday? A teacher?” Kagami prodded, unable to hide his curiousity about it.

“I don’t know. It seems like such a distant dream now, and I don’t think about it that much anymore,” Kuroko said, his eyes glancing off in the distance as they walked the path back to the main hub of the village.

For some reason, Kagami got the feeling Kuroko wasn’t telling the whole truth there.

“Besides, I am not unhappy in Kamikatsu. Sometimes, we don’t always walk the path we expect in life, and that is just something we have to deal with,”

“Yeah,” Kagami responds with, because he has no words of wisdom to offer and he kind of interprets that Kuroko doesn’t really want an answer anyway.

Well, Taiga had lot’s more time to figure Kuroko out before he went back to America.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't you guys think Kagami looks a little bit like Ichigo too? xD hope you don't mind I added some OC kids! I'm not usually one for OCs but OC kids are my weakness...I will promise I will add more cute scenes with them ^_^
> 
> Please PLEASE try to leave me a comment, they really do motivate me so much! Whatever you want to say, please say it, because I value knowing what you guys think about this story and any thoughts you have :) 
> 
> Thanks for reading, and see you next time! Merry Christmas and happy new year x


	6. Stubborn, in both heart and mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey dumplings! ^w^ I'm here with a new chapter and I hope you will like it! Kagami and Kuroko continue to grow closer in this chapter, and Kagami is settling more and feeling more comfortable in Kamikatsu :) also, shout out to my lovely subscribers! Thank you for supporting this story and sticking with me! ;U;

Taiga has really been enjoying his morning runs in Kamikatsu. It was actually refreshing, breathing in the clean air compared to running around parks and the beach in L.A. Not that the air wasn't clean, but it was obviously more polluted and stuffier. Now that he was in Kamikatsu, he could clearly tell the difference involving that aspect of it. The mountainous, rocky terrain was tough on his legs and a different level of challenging than jogging through hot, dry sand. It was great for his land training, and he'd talked about them that much that he'd convinced Kuroko to come along with him. Not every day, of course, since Kuroko had the rice fields and other household duties he had to attend to. But, Kuroko had said he would try his best to make about two mornings each week if possible.

He was, naturally, a lot slower than Taiga was. But, he didn't mind slowing his pace for Kuroko. Since he ran as fast as he wanted the other five mornings in a week, he thought it was alright only sticking with jogging when Kuroko joined him. And hopefully, the weekly jogs would help build Kuroko's endurance even further. The first morning had been a struggle, but Kuroko kept a positive attitude and ran the entire circuit Kagami had devised for himself. He could barely walk afterwards, but his triumphant smile was more telling than anything else. 

Yet, today, something was off. Kuroko had barely said anything since they had started, and although he kept running in that diligent manner of his, his eyes looked clouded over. His mind was somewhere else, something was weighing down on it. When they stopped at the halfway point to catch their breaths and re-hydrate, Taiga decided to broach the topic with Kuroko.

"Oi, what's up? You've been pretty quiet, y'know," he said, panting lightly and wiping away sweat from his hairline with his arm. 

Kuroko noticeably sits up straighter, clearly not expecting to have been called out, but he bows his head in Kagami's direction, "I apologise for my rude behaviour, Kagami-kun. I thought I was already over my disappointment, but it appears that is not the case."

"Disappointment? What're you disappointed about? Something happen?" he asked, trying not to sound too nosy, but he didn't like that off tone in Kuroko's voice. It bothered Taiga, and he wanted to show he was there if Kuroko wanted to talk about it. 

Fortunately, it seemed like Kuroko took his words with the best intentions, as he sighed softly and started talking, “My grandmother and I were going to visit Kanchogataki Falls, as we usually try to visit there at least once a year together. It has been a tradition since I was young. We had plans to go on Saturday, however that won’t be possible now,” he finished, his eyebrows upturned in dismay. 

“Why's that?” Taiga asked, eyebrows knitting together in concern.

“Unfortunately, my grandmother won’t be able to go with me on that day as she is picking up many parcels from the post office for some of the frailer residents who cannot make the trip themselves. Since she has to sign for the parcels in person and the post office is half an hour away, it will take most of the day for her to complete,” Kuroko explained, and Taiga couldn't help but think selflessness was maybe sorta part of Kuroko's family genes or something. Kuroko and his grandmother went out of their way for people, expecting nothing in return. It was admirable, though Taiga definitely understood why Kuroko would be in a bad mood because of it. 

“However, my grandmother offered me an alternative solution, as she isn’t able to give me a certain date for when we can go together,” Kuroko explained, and he paused, rubbing at the condensation around his drink bottle. It almost looked like he was nervous, which was bizarre to Taiga, since Kuroko didn't seem like the type to get easily nervous or flustered. Before he could say anything, Kuroko locked eyes with him, his usual determination now shining through, “Kagami-kun, I know this is sudden of me to ask this of you, but would you like to accompany me?”

"Me? You want me to go with you instead?" Taiga gawked, not expecting such a request to come out of the story.

“Please, do not feel pressured to say yes. I will not be upset if you cannot come with me, and I am certainly capable of going by myself. My grandmother tends to fuss over me, even though I am a fully grown adult,” Kuroko mumbled towards the end, his lips pursed as if he was trying very hard not to pout.

“I’ll go,” Taiga said, not really having to think about it. Ever since they had met, he'd never had a dull moment with Kuroko, and he expected that wouldn't change for the rest of his time in Kamikatsu. Besides, even if he said he could make the trip himself, Taiga couldn't ignore how disheartened Kuroko looked when he said that his grandmother could not go with him.

Kuroko seemed surprised, though, his eyes flicking back over to Kagami quickly, “Really? Are you sure?”

“Huh? ‘Course I am! I’ve read about popular attractions in Kamikatsu, and I remember looking at pictures of ‘em. I wanna see them in real life, so yeah. I’ll come with you,” Taiga did remember reading about those waterfalls, and he had planned on going by himself when he'd done his research back in America. But, if Kuroko was asking him to go, then there was no way he was turning him down. The more the merrier, right?

“Okay. I am actually quite excited now that Kagami-kun has agreed to go with me. Kanchogataki Falls are very beautiful, I will never forget how I felt seeing it for the first time,” Kuroko's eyes did that sparkly thing, where it looked like hundreds of tiny stars were hiding behind them. Even if his voice or face didn't change, Taiga had learnt that sometimes, Kuroko's eyes showed his true feelings.

Taiga grinned, looking up at the blue sky, “Sounds like it’s gonna be a good day, huh?”

“It is also fortunate that I know the bus driver, and he will allow Nigou to ride with us. It will be a wonderful outing,” Kuroko added, a pleased smile on his face.

“Wait, what?” Kagami’s smile dropped off his face, irritation leaking through immediately. At Kuroko’s unblinking, unchanging ‘I’m serious’ stare, Taiga then let his temper get the better of him, “No way! Don’t bring him along too! He’s annoying!”

“How could you be so cruel to Nigou when he is not even here, Kagami-kun?” Kuroko said in a disheartened tone, which only made Kagami more irritated.

But no matter how much he complained, Kuroko wouldn’t budge. Either the dog went with them, or they didn’t go at all. Man, dealing with him is a real pain, Kagami sighed, irked at the obviously happy aura that surrounded Kuroko after he gave in.

Two days later, Taiga showed up on Kuroko and his grandmother’s doorstep, with a backpack full of food he had cooked himself as well as plenty of drinks. He knocked a few times, and moments later the door swung open and there Kuroko stood, dressed with a cap on his head and carrying a backpack of his own.

“Yo, are you ready to go?” Kagami asked as a way of greeting the other, readjusting his backpack strap over his shoulder.

“Of course, Kagami-kun,” Kuroko said, and Kagami frowned.

There was something wrong with Kuroko’s voice. It wasn’t like he had the most expressive tone in the first place, but this was ridiculously flat and nasally. It was like someone had stuffed a bunch of tissues up Kuroko’s nose. Nigou was at his feet, looking up at Kuroko and whining sadly.

Squinting his eyes, Kagami crouched lower so he was at Kuroko’s eye level and took a proper look at his appearance. His hair was a mess – worse than usual, since one part of it was stuck to his head while the rest of it stuck up in any and all directions. His usual clear eyes were red and droopy, and his posture was slightly slumped. Despite that, his clothes looked normal, but Kagami wasn’t a _complete _idiot.

“You, idiot! Why didn’t you tell me you’re sick?” Sighing harshly, Kagami aimed an admonishing glare at the other as he stood up straight. _Really, I don’t get this guy sometimes._

“But, I’m not,” was Kuroko’s succinct reply, as he blinked innocently and slowly.

“It’s obvious you are! Don’t be stupid!” Kagami growled, unamused.

“It is only a minor head cold. I am okay, the fresh air will help,” Kuroko insisted, his satchel hanging on his shoulder and biting at Kagami’s conscience.

Softening his tone, Kagami continued with his own persistence, “You look like shit, and I bet you feel worse. You’re not going anywhere,”

“Thank you for your concern, but I will be fine. Let’s go,” With that, Kuroko suddenly disappeared from in front of him and jolted Kagami into action.

Spinning around, he scanned ahead of him for any sight of Kuroko, trying to look for him without looking for him. It was out of the corner of his eye that he saw the other walking onwards. He was only a couple of metres ahead, and Kagami caught up easily.

“Oi, Kuroko! Just wait a damn–!”

Kagami’s sentence remained unfinished as the sight of Kuroko wobbling and then losing his balance made him forget about his words. Grabbing around Kuroko’s waist with one hand, he rests the other in the crook of Kuroko’s elbow nearest to him. Thankfully, Kagami caught hold of him and managed to steady Kuroko before he could face plant on the ground.

“Kuroko! Are you okay?” He asked urgently, keeping hold of the other since he didn’t trust the guy to stand on his own.

“I-I am alright, thank you. I just skidded on some loose gravel here,” Kuroko explained, although his words sounded hazy as though he was having trouble stringing them together.

Not having the use of his hands, Kagami improvised and leaned down to press his forehead against Kuroko’s. The skin was hot and damp against his own, and this close he could hear Kuroko slightly panting instead of his normal quiet breathing. _Definitely a fever, damn it._ Pulling away, he moved his hands to rest on Kuroko’s shoulders to hold him still.

“You’ve got a fever, and you almost fainted. Doesn’t sound like a minor head cold to me,” Kagami grumbled lowly, to which Kuroko weakly shook his head.

“Please, we have to go soon, or we will miss the bus,” Kuroko’s voice was strained, and it made Kagami even more frustrated. For someone so caring towards others as he was, Kuroko was terrible at self-care.

“No. You’re not going anywhere, except home,” Kagami said, firmly.

“If Kagami-kun will not accompany me, then I will go by myself. Step aside, please,” Kuroko’s hands came up suddenly and attempted to throw Kagami’s off his shoulders.

Kagami knew it was a pointless struggle, and he didn’t have to hold much tighter onto him before Kuroko’s actions slowed. The look on Kuroko’s face was crestfallen, and the fact he looked visibly sick only gave him a more miserable appearance.

“Come on, you need to rest,” Wrapping an arm around his waist again, Kagami turned them around and led Kuroko home.

After helping him back inside, Kagami closed the front door and removed his shoes and deposited his backpack near the genkan before walking into the kitchen.

“You should go have a warm shower. It’ll help, trust me,” he said, pulling out a large pot and turning to the fridge to start gathering ingredients.

“What are you doing, Kagami-kun?” Kuroko asked, still in the process of removing his shoes and removing the backpack from his back.

“Huh? I’m gonna make you some soup. It’s better to eat stuff like that when you’re sick, it’ll go down easier. It's okay if I use your kitchen, right?” he asked distractedly, pulling out his phone and googling a quick and easy chicken soup recipe that he could whip up.

Having finished with his shoes and backpack, Kuroko tottered into the kitchen as well, peering over at Kagami curiously, “Aren’t you returning to your grandparents? You do not have to stay here with me.”

Taiga snorted, shaking his head and throwing Kuroko a shrewd glance, “Don’t even try, I can’t trust you. If I leave, you might really try and go by yourself. Then what am I gonna do if you collapse in the middle of nowhere?”

“I won’t try to leave,” Kuroko said, and Kagami rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. Just go take a shower, I’m not going anywhere so don’t bother,” Taiga told him, no longer paying attention as he stuck his head in the fridge and searched for the ingredients he'd need. It looked like he'd have everything he needed for the recipe he found. Just as he started pulling out the food he'd need, he heard the shower turn on, and was relieved that for once Kuroko seemed to be listening to him. 

*

When Kuroko came out of the shower, dressed in sweatpants and a long sleeved shirt, Taiga thought he did look slightly better. However, he wouldn't be convinced until he got some food and drink into Kuroko.

"Kuroko, the soup's ready. Come sit on the couch, it'll be more comfortable," Kagami called, setting the bowl of homemade chicken soup and cup of ginger tea on a tray and heading over to the couch.

"Yes, I am already here," Kuroko's voice answered back to him just as Kagami approached the couch, seeing Kuroko suddenly sitting right in front of him and startling him so bad he almost dropped the hot food and drink.

"Don't do that when I'm carrying hot stuff! Geez, I nearly scolded myself and you," Kagami grumbled, setting the tray down on the coffee table and fishing out a couple of the sandwiches he'd packed for them in his backpack to eat himself.

“Sorry. But, aren’t you worried you will get sick, Kagami-kun?” Kuroko asked, his hands wrapping around the bowl and soaking up its warmth from the soup.

“Nah, it’s fine. It takes a lot for me to get sick, don’t worry,” Taiga reassured him, opening up an egg salad sandwich and digging in, “How did you even get sick, anyway?”

“My immune system isn’t very strong, and it has been that way ever since I was a child. Usually I am diligent when it comes to my health, but my grandmother thinks I may have gotten sick from not wearing enough layers when I am working in the rice fields on cold mornings,” Kuroko told him, picking up the spoon and trying the soup. He licked his lips after swallowing it, and immediately had another spoonful, "This is delicious, Kagami-kun. I can actually taste some of the flavour past my cold."

“Heh, thanks," Taiga smiled briefly, always pleased when others enjoyed his cooking. Then, he went back to their previous conversation, "So, your granny knew you were sick before she left?”

Kuroko nodded, downing more and more of the soup, “Yes. She told me not to leave my bed, that I had a temperature and wouldn’t be going anywhere today. Then, she said to let you know I could not make the trip today. She will come back with some medicine for me to take, as we don't have any in our cupboards at the moment.”

“You didn’t do any of that!” Kagami exclaimed, annoyed at Kuroko’s blatant disregard for his own well-being.

“I was determined I would feel better once the time came to leave,” Kuroko offered, which only made Kagami narrow his eyes at him.

“There’s always a next time, don’t push yourself so hard. Idiot,” Taiga scolded him, moving onto his next sandwich, this time a tuna and mayonnaise one. 

“I’m sorry. I really wanted to go today, so I pretended I wasn’t sick,” Kuroko looked down at his bowl, his shoulders drooped low. 

Taiga sighed, speaking around a mouthful of food, “You’re too stubborn. Geez, what would you do if I wasn’t here? You’d seriously get into trouble, you know that?”

“It’s a good thing that Kagami-kun is here, then,” Kuroko deducted, which made Kagami’s mouth snap shut and his eyes widen, “Thank you for staying with me,” Kuroko smiled weakly at him, and pierced a hole in Kagami’s heart.

“You’re unbelievable,” Kagami murmured, more to himself than to Kuroko.

Then, a comfortable silence settled between them for a while, as they both respectively made their way through their meals. Kuroko managed to eat 3/4 of the soup in total, and Taiga had downed about a dozen sandwiches, now washing them down with some water.

“Kagami-kun, do you have a girlfriend back in America?” Kuroko asked over his cup of tea, blowing away the steam before taking a sip.

“Wh-WHAT!?” Kagami screeched, his face burning bright red at the sudden, intimate question, “Where did that come from!? Why the hell do you wanna know, huh!?”

“I’m sorry. I did not realise it was a delicate subject. You can forget that question if you would like,” Kuroko says, maintaining his polite tone even through a stuffed-up nose and puffy red eyes.

“J-Just tell me why you asked, geez,” Taiga muttered, feeling all flustered without a real explanation as to why.

“Truthfully, I have been curious about your ring that you wear around your neck every day,” Kuroko pointed to his ring necklace, making Taiga stiffen against the couch, “I was wondering if perhaps you had a girlfriend and shared a promise ring with her.”

“It’s…It’s nothing like that, okay? I don’t have a girlfriend. I’ve never even dated anyone before,” Taiga admitted in a low voice, scratching his head and avoiding eye contact.

“That’s alright. Neither have I,” Kuroko said reassuringly, and Kagami tried hard not to show the lack of surprise he felt at hearing that.

Not that he thought badly of Kuroko or anything, he just kind of figured Kuroko wouldn’t have much opportunity to really date anyone as busy as he was. Plus, his grandmother had told him there weren’t many young people Kuroko’s age who hung around Kamikatsu for long. Vaguely, he wondered if Kuroko had ever had a crush on anyone. The thought kind of soured his mood, so he pushed it away for the time being.

Kagami was kind of relieved Kuroko didn’t try to pry further. But, now that it was out in the open, he might as well talk about it. It’s not like Kuroko had been trying to do something bad, he was just trying to find out more about who Kagami was. And not a lot of people were really interested in Kagami beyond what he could do on a basketball court.

Breathing in deeply through his nose, Taiga let it out slowly as he looked down at the ring, reaching up to finger it lightly, “This ring is actually…it’s a pair that I share with my brother.”

For once, he can actually hear the surprise in Kuroko’s tone when he speaks, “I did not know that Kagami-kun had a brother?”

“We’re not related by blood, but he was the one who really ignited my passion for basketball. I met him when I was a kid in America, he was…my first real friend. He’s older than me by a year, but we…we don’t really talk much, these days…”

“I see,” Kuroko nodded, a brief moment of silence settling between them. Taiga had no idea what to say next, not used to talking about Tatsuya out loud. It was a hurt he nursed by himself, and one he didn’t share often with others. Something inside him said he could trust Kuroko, though.

While Kagami was still figuring out what to say, Kuroko asked him another question, “What is your brother’s name?”

Caught off guard at the innocent, simple question, Taiga blinked and hesitantly answered, “Himuro…Tatsuya.”

Feeling less pressured, Kagami adds a little more information, “He’s Japanese too, and he actually moved back to Japan just when I started high school. I haven’t seen him since then.”

Kuroko nodded again, looking at Kagami with attentive eyes, “What was Himuro-san’s style of basketball like?”

“He…He’s all about having a cool head and a hot heart,” Kagami frowned, the exact words imprinted in his memory ever since Tatsuya had first told them to him, “he keeps it calm and collected when he’s playing, so he can think through all the strategies and options he has clearly. But on the inside, he’s burning with the same kinda intensity that I have. He loves playing strong opponents, and he’s always playing to win.”

“Himuro-san sounds like a very skilled and polished basketball player. Hopefully you will reunite with him some day,” Kuroko offered a uniquely optimistic response, faulting neither Taiga nor Tatsuya, not looking to blame anyone or point fingers. Just sincerely hoping they could patch things up one day. It was…oddly soothing to hear.

“Yeah. Dunno when but…I’d like to see him again, even if it’s only once,” Taiga admitted, hit with the truth of that desire right then and there. He really would like to meet with Tatsuya again, he just didn’t know how that would happen, if it ever would happen. Jerking back at his own silence, he abruptly turns to face Kuroko, who is still watching him with patient eyes, “Ah, sorry. You probably don’t wanna hear about my crappy dramas when you’re sick like this.”

“Friends share hardships with each other just as much as they share in the happy moments. I don’t mind talking about it if it makes Kagami-kun feel even a little better. I only wish there was something more I could do for you,” Kuroko said, his voice tinged with disappointment in himself. Honestly, Kuroko was way too hard on himself sometimes.

“You worry too much, y’know? I’m fine, so don’t stress about it,” Taiga waved him off, though he appreciated Kuroko’s words. They were honest, not said out of courtesy or with false intentions.

Kuroko hummed scratchily, the sound totally different compared to his usual smooth voice, “Okay. However, please know that I am here if you ever want to talk about anything, including Himuro-san.”

“Gimme your number,” he said abruptly, already pulling out his own phone from his pocket.

Kuroko tilted his head, openly confused, “Eh?”

“I mean, if we had each other numbers before, you could’ve called me to say you weren’t feeling right,” Taiga blurted out, then when he caught Kuroko’s guilty expression, he shrugged and added, “Anyways, we can’t just rely on face-to-face all the time. What if its somethin’ important?”

“Alright. Here,” Kuroko agreed, handing over his phone after unlocking it, and Kagami did the same. It was silent for a moment while they typed in their numbers and name.

Immediately upon checking Kuroko’s contact, Kagami scowled and addressed Kuroko with a threatening growl, “Kuroko, you bastard. You really put the dog emoji next to your name? I’m gonna delete it!”

“No, please don’t. How else will Kagami-kun know if it is me?” Kuroko asked forlornly, the slightest crease appearing between his eyebrows as if to convey his displeasure at the idea.

Taiga’s eyebrow twitches tetchily, as he snaps back, “From your name!”

“How mean, Kagami-kun. I picked it out especially,” sniffing, Kuroko plucked a tissue from the box and blew his nose, adding to his pitiful ‘you are so mean to me Kagami-kun’ act – even though the guy was just sick and acting silly.

“Geez. I don’t know what to do with you,” Taiga shook his head, but admitted to himself that in a roundabout kind of way, that Kuroko did cheer him up.

Kagami sighs heavily, irked at the way Kuroko just never gave into him. He always put up a fight, always acted so stubborn…just like Kagami did. Kuroko was an idiot. He didn’t come off that way at first, but he was. Kagami had been described as hot-headed and stubborn, but he’d honestly say Kuroko was just as stubborn as he was – the only difference was his even-tempered nature.

When Kuroko’s head started dropping down, then lifting up again, Kagami realised _he_ was the real idiot for listening to anything Kuroko told him in this state.

“If you need to sleep, just tell me! Stupid,” he hissed, helping Kuroko stand up and the other thanked him softly, walking on unsteady feet towards his bedroom. Kagami followed after him, you know, just in case Kuroko fell down or something. 

“I just realised this is the first time I am showing Kagami-kun my bedroom. Do you like it?” Kuroko sniffled as they entered inside, setting his tissue box on his bedside table and pulling back the covers of his bed.

“Y-Yeah. It’s fine, I guess,” Taiga blushed, embarrassed at the awkward feelings he got when Kuroko said that. It felt weird, like what a girl would say to her boyfriend, taking him to her room for the first time. Shaking his head quickly to dispel those dumb thoughts, he focused on actually taking in the room, the basketball related stuff instantly catching his eye, “You got some really cool posters.”

Kuroko accepted the praise with a nod, slowly crawling into his bed, “Thank you. I worked hard to collect them whenever I had the chance to go to Tokyo.”

Then, Kuroko lowered himself to lie down as in bed. As he saw Kuroko pulling up the sheets and the quilt, tucking them around his lithe body to insulate the heat, Taiga thought that another blanket couldn't hurt. So, Kagami took the one that was folded up on the end of Kuroko's bed, laying it on top as well. The sound of a dog yapping was all the warning Kagami had gotten, as Nigou bounded into the room and jumped up on Kuroko’s bed. He wasted no time in settling himself against the boy’s side.

“Hey! Don’t just jump up on your own!” Taiga scolded, glaring at the small dog.

Nigou only looked up at him, with those clear blue eyes, and Kagami sighed. Truthfully though, he couldn’t be too mad at him. Since he gave Kuroko comfort when he needed it, and always seemed to know, he figured the mutt wasn’t all that bad.

“Thank you very much, Kagami-kun,” Kuroko mumbled, blinking languidly up at him as he continued to fight the pull of sleep, “I’m glad you are my friend. I am sorry we could not see Kanchogataki Falls together.”

Something shifted in his chest, and Kagami felt the tension drain out of him. Despite all of the stress and annoyance Kuroko gave him on a day to day basis, Kagami couldn’t deny that his small presence left a big impact on him. He was never afraid to speak his mind or speak from his heart. Never had he met anyone like him, and Kagami couldn’t escape the nagging thought that he had found something special here.

“Of course I’m here for you, Kuroko. Don’t worry and just rest now, alright?” Kagami replied, placing his hand on Kuroko’s blanket-covered shoulder and squeezing gently. He then turned and made his way out of the room, closing the door softly behind him.

Taiga then decided to wash up everything from their early lunch, and make sure the kitchen was back in the same state it had been before he'd cooked in there. After that, Taiga sat down on the couch, and decided to wait until Kuroko's grandmother came home. True, Kuroko was sleeping and would probably be fine until she came back. Kuroko would probably tell him to leave, that he had done enough already. And yet, Taiga couldn't bring himself to budge. Even if Kuroko would be okay, Taiga wouldn't feel okay with leaving him by himself. Nobody liked being alone when they were sick, and it wasn't like Taiga had anything urgent to do or anywhere he had to be. 

About an hour later, the sound of a key turning in a lock drew Kagami to a stand. There was a soft calling of, "I'm home," and since he wanted to be polite, Kagami answered back, "Welcome home, ma'am."

“Oh, Kagami-kun! I didn’t expect to see you here,” Kuroko’s grandmother said, moving out of the genkan and towards him, reaching her arms up which made Kagami automatically bend his knees to accept her hug.

It was still strange to him how friendly the people were to him in Kamikatsu, and Kuroko’s grandmother seemed to be fond of him – at least that’s what Kuroko told him.

“So, if you’re here, I’m guessing you know Tet-chan is sick?” she asked him, expectant eyes now on him. For a brief moment, Kagami wondered if Kuroko’s mother shared the same eyes as Kuroko’s grandmother and Kuroko himself.

“Ah, yeah. He didn’t actually tell me until I came over, and he said we were still going on the trip. He's sleeping right now,” Taiga said, pulling away from her and drawing back up to his full height.

Shaking her head, she made to step forward but Kagami noticed the two grocery bags she carried and took them. She smiled at him, which he awkwardly returned before they both moved into the kitchen. It seemed as if she had already delivered the parcels to those who were unable to receive them. 

“That boy, he’s too stubborn for his own good,” she sighed softly, and Taiga absolutely agreed with her.

“He tried to get me to go with him, but don’t worry. I made sure he stayed put inside the whole day,” Kagami reassured her, setting the bags and stepping back so Kuroko’s grandmother could come forward to unpack them.

“Thank you, Kagami-chan. I don’t know what to do with him sometimes, even though he’s already an adult. I should have stayed home to watch over him,” she frowned slightly, pulling out the contents from each bag and setting them on the counter.

Taiga shook his head, adding sincerely, “It’s okay, I don’t mind. I guess I should go now,” he excused himself, picking up all his belongings and heading over to the genkan. Kuroko's grandmother followed him, sending him off with kind eyes and an even kinder smile, "Thank you again, Kagami-chan. You’re a very good friend to Tet-chan. He is so lucky to have someone like you to look after him,”

"It's nothing. We're friends, so I'll help him whenever he needs it. Even if he says he doesn't want it," he explained, making her laugh softly which in turn caused Taiga to smile. He waved as he walked off down the path back to his grandparents' house. It wasn't how Taiga imagined he'd spend the day, but it wasn't all that bad in the end. It was actually kind of hard for any day with Kuroko to turn out badly. 

*

The next day, Kagami sent Kuroko a text around midday.

** _Kagami: hey, how r u feelin?_ **

** _Kuroko: Good afternoon, Kagami-kun. I feel better than yesterday, thank you for asking._ **

_Typical Kuroko, _Kagami snorted, noting the perfect grammar and punctuation even when messaging via phone.

** _Kagami: good, rest up ok? U make ur granny worried u know_ **

** _Kuroko: I’m sorry, it wasn’t my intention. I will try not to push myself as you said._ **

Taiga was satisfied at that, knowing Kuroko wasn't just saying it to make him shut up. He genuinely felt bad, and though it wasn't Taiga's intention to guilt trip him, he felt it was important that Kuroko knew he should look after himself not only for himself, but for the other people who cared about him too.

** _Kagami: let me know if u need sth, I can buy it at the store + come over_ **

** _Kuroko: That’s very nice of you, thank you. I will let you know if I think of something._ **

"Taiga-chan, would you be able to help me with this wheelbarrow? I'm not sure if the wheel might need replacing or not," he heard his grandfather call from the back yard, and he answered back that he was coming. He sent Kuroko a last message before he left.

** _Kagami: no worries. Gtg, gramps needs help in the garden. Talk 2 u l8er._ **

Just as Taiga had finished changing into his outdoor clothes, his phone pinged and he checked to find a reply from Kuroko, which he decided to read before heading out. 

** _Kuroko: I will talk to you later, then. Thank you again, Kagami-kun. I really appreciate everything you have done and do for me._ **

As Kagami read the text, a weird feeling gushed up in his stomach. It passed quickly, and Kagami shook his head. He was probably just hungry, that was it.

*

Later in the day, Taiga decided to give his dad a ring, since it had been a few days since they'd last talked.

“Hey dad,” Taiga greeted, lying back on his futon and relaxing his muscles.

_“Hey, Taiga. How are you doing?” _his dad’s warm voice filtered through the phone, and he sounded happy to hear from Taiga.

“Yeah, I’m good. Grams and Gramps are just out visiting some friends of theirs, and I’m helping out with some housework,” he said, picking at a loose thread in his sweatpants for a bit before snapping it off, “I planted some rice the other day, too.”

_“Wow! That’s my Taiga, always throwing himself into things headfirst even if he doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing,” _his dad chuckled, and Taiga knew if he was with him his dad would probably ruffle his hair like he was some kid and not his 22-year-old son. 

Still, Taiga groaned in annoyance, rubbing his forehead in embarrassment, “Dad! Cut it out! I managed just fine, okay?”

“Kuroko’s sick, too. Dunno how, but I feel like he’s the kind of guy that’ll get sick way too easily if he’s not careful,”

_“Oh, that’s no good. I hope he’ll recover soon.”_

He had told his dad all about Kuroko in their earlier calls, and it turns out (though Taiga totally should have seen it coming) that his dad was familiar with Kuroko’s family as well. Obviously not as well as his grandparents, but since his dad visited Kamikatsu much more frequently he got to know more people there. And of course, Kuroko and his family were already close to his grandparents, so it was only natural. His dad had never actually met Kuroko himself, but he’d had a few conversations with Kuroko’s grandmother.

Taiga went on to tell him the whole story about his and Kuroko's plans to see the waterfalls, how that fell through, and he ended up looking after Kuroko instead. His dad actually praised him a lot for that, said he was a good friend and that it wasn't something everyone did. That kind of embarrassed Taiga, but it always made him kind of happy whenever his dad was proud of him about anything he did. His dad filled him on what was happening in L.A., mostly talking about his work that Taiga could keep up with a lot better than he had in high school. Apparently Alex was busy working out a training regime for his return (she was already planning that!? He still had a month and a bit left in Kamikatsu, Taiga grimaced at his mentor's crazy ways), and she would call him back another time.

L.A. seemed to be as busy as usual, yet Taiga would admit he wasn't missing it as much lately. Perhaps, he had gotten over his homesickness stage? Either way, he found that he was falling into step with Kamikatsu a lot easier now than he had been back at the start.

*

Kuroko had stayed home for three days until he was well again. It was strange how over those three days, Kagami often found himself sort of…bored. He hadn’t realised it, but he actually spent most of his time with Kuroko. They had basically seen each other every day up until this point ever since Kagami had arrived in Kamikatsu. To suddenly not see him for not only one day, but three days…it was just weird.

But, Kuroko had messaged him and said he was recovered, saying that he'd meet Kagami at his grandparents' house just after midday. As soon as he was done with lunch, he waited out the front of the house, basketball in hand. If he looked hard enough, then maybe he could spot Kuroko coming. If Taiga could catch sight of him from a distance, then the shock wouldn't be as bad when Kuroko suddenly appeared in front of him.

“Good afternoon, Kagami-kun,” a dull, but much clearer (clearer than the last time they spoke, anyway) voice called to him out of nowhere.

“Kuroko!” Kagami jolted in shock, spinning around and being met with the man standing there, exercise gear on and his complexion a lot less pale than it had been a few days ago.

“Hey!” Taiga grinned, then eyed him suspiciously, ducking his head down to analyse Kuroko at eye level, “You sure you’re good now? You’re not jumping the gun and still sorta sick but not telling anyone about it, are you?”

“No. I am at full health once more, thanks to both my grandmother and Kagami-kun’s efforts,” Kuroko answered, blinking back unphased at the sudden invasion of his personal space.

Taiga leaned back and stood tall once more, scratching the back of his hair and unsure what to do with the unnecessary praise, “I didn’t really do much.”

“That’s not true. Without Kagami-kun’s encouragement and understanding, I would have pushed myself and gotten sicker. I know I can be quite hard-headed at time, so I really do appreciate your actions,”

“Hah! You got that right. You’re a persistent little thing, y’know?” Kagami griped, palming the top of Kuroko's head and mussing up his hair. 

“I resent the ‘little’ part, Kagami-kun. Comparing myself to a giant like you is not fair in the first place,” Kuroko sniped back at him, knocking Kagami's hand away from his head in an almost childish manner.

“Oi oi, you’re the one who needs to grow more. It’s not like I’m shrinking anytime soon,” Taiga bragged, having missed this back-and-forth bickering he shared only with Kuroko. 

“Anyway, would you like to go to the clearing and practice some basketball today?” Kuroko proposed, and Kagami was a little taken aback at how readily Kuroko threw himself back into things after just being sick. Not that Kagami expected him to mope around, since Kuroko just wasn’t the type who wallowed when things got hard.

Kagami lifted an eyebrow at him, mildly skeptical, “Are you sure you can handle that?”

Kuroko nodded straight away, never hesitating when it came to basketball, “Of course. I have been itching to play for a while now.”

“Then, hell yeah. Let’s go!” Taiga smirked, raising his fist up. Kuroko stared at it for a few seconds, then, his eyes grew brighter as he raised his own. Their fists bumped together, and then they were on their way – conveniently, Kagami dressed in sports gear more often than not, so he was ready to go.

“Also, Kagami-kun,” Kuroko called him for his attention, so Kagami swung his head over in his direction, “I hope you won’t go easy on me just because I’ve been ill. I plan to try my hardest today,”

“Hah, don’t worry. I had no intention of holding back,” Taiga smirked, feeling amped up at Kuroko’s clear enthusiasm. He had such a blank face a lot of the time, but the emotion shining in his eyes and his strong words told Taiga how serious he was.

Taiga was right. He was never bored when he was with Kuroko.

It was the complete opposite, actually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please, leave me a comment! Ask me questions, ramble, anything is good really! xD You guys have no idea how motivating even just one comment can be ^o^ 
> 
> (btw thought I'll try out a sign off thing, haha!)
> 
> \- Foamy ☆*。*.・


	7. Bright presence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi lovely readers! It's been a while, I know T_T but I'm here with a new chapter to hopefully bring a smile to your face! :) I missed writing for this story so much, and I may have indulged myself a little so beware: fluffiness and dorky basketball boys ahead! ^o^

_“Hi, Kagamin! How are you? Feeling like a local yet?” _Momoi’s cheerful voice resounded over the phone, and he could hear Aomine grunt a vague greeting in the background. 

Taiga had finished his breakfast a little while ago and figured now would be a good time to catch up with Aomine and Momoi (time difference and all).

“Hey, I’m good. I’m feeling more comfortable every day here, so that’s something. What about you guys?” Kagami asked, sitting down on the porch in the backyard and feeling the morning sun warm his face.

_“Oh, I’m so glad to hear that!” _Momoi chirped at him_, “and we’re both doing fine! Dai-chan being serious with his practice is still a surprising but wonderful sight to see!”_

“Cool. Hey, can…uh, is Aomine there with you?” Kagami asked sheepishly, even though he obviously knew that Aomine was there. That was just how it was between them, whenever they needed or wanted something (usually _help_) from the other.

_“Yes! Do you want to talk to him? Here, let me pass you over! Dai-chan, come closer! Kagamin wants to talk to you!”_ Momoi’s voice grew quieter as she spoke away from the phone, probably craning her neck around to catch Aomine’s attention – the idiot always dawdled behind whenever they had to walk anyway, which was kind of funny to see given his crazy speed on the court.

_“Hah? I’ll pass,” _Aomine’s low, lazy voice drawled through the receiver, and Kagami’s temper spiked at the clear boredom in his tone. _That asshole!_

“Oi, I can hear you, bastard!” Taiga snapped, annoyed, “Had to ask you something about basketball, but never mind. I’ll ask someone else. They’ll probably give me a better answer than you ever could, Aho!”

_“Who are you calling an idiot!? When it comes to basketball, there’s no one who knows more than me! Whatever it is, you can bet your ass I’ve got an answer for it,” _Aomine snarled, both offended and arrogant at the same time.

Tugging at his hair, Taiga growled in frustration through the phone, “Argh! You’re so damn aggravating y’know that? Even when we’re not in the same freakin’ country!”

_“Yeah well the feeling is mutual, Bakagami,”_ Aomine retorted back, and Momoi could be heard sighing exasperatedly in the background.

“Listen, you got any ideas for what I could use as a makeshift hoop?” he inquired, genuinely stumped on what to do. Honestly, to ask Aomine of all people was a last resort, but it was either that or give up and Taiga was never a quitter, “There’s nothin’ I can think of using that would be light enough or small enough or stable enough to hang from a tree or pole.”

_“There’s nothing at all huh?”_ Aomine remarked under his breath, and Kagami could tell he was genuinely thinking about what to do for an alternative. It was quiet for a little while, until Aomine sighed noisily through the phone and finally answered, _“Best thing I can think of would be to get a milk crate and cut the bottom out of it, then stick it up high on a pole or a tree somewhere.”_

“That’s…actually a good idea,” Kagami remarked, his eyebrows rising up under his fringe in pleasant surprise, “I’m pretty sure my Grams or even their neighbours would have some old milk crates lyin’ around. This is great, I might even be able to set up multiple hoops!” Taiga was getting excited at the thought of it, because damn, he really missed dunking baskets!

_“No need to thank me, that’s just how awesome I am,” _Aomine’s smug voice replied back, and Taiga scoffed but wouldn’t let Aomine’s ego dampen his good mood.

_“You won’t have a backboard, though,” _Aomine added as an afterthought, and Taiga smirked at the word.

“Heh, that’s more than okay. It’ll just make me work harder on improving the accuracy of my shots,” he bragged, pumped up already.

Aomine huffed an amused laugh at him as he said, _“Bastard, don’t think you can outshoot me!”_

_“Geez. We always end up talking about basketball somehow, neh?” _Momoi laughed fondly, the phone now back in her possession. Taiga spent another half hour catching up with the two of them, before they had to go get their dinner.

Once he was off the phone, Taiga wandering back into the house and finding his grandmother in the living room folding laundry. He stepped forward and helped her out, with his grandmother smiling at him gratefully.

“Grams, do you have any spare milk crates lying around that I could use?” Taiga asked her, as they finished up with the last of the clothes.

His grandmother’s eyes widened over her glasses, and she tilted her head curiously, “Eh? What do you need a milk crate for, Taiga-chan?”

“It’s for basketball, I want to make a hoop so I can practice my shooting,” he explained earnestly, and then understanding bloomed across her face.

“Oh, what a good idea! I think I have one or two somewhere in the garden shed. Let me come and show you,” she told him happily, and he followed her out to the garden shed.

“Will these do?” she asked, moving some buckets to reveal two milk crates. All Kagami would have to do is cut out the bottom and he would have square, hollow, makeshift hoop.

“Yeah, these are perfect! Thanks so much, Grams!” he beamed, and she patted his cheek, telling him she was happy to help before shuffling back inside.

Taiga looked down at the crates and grinned. He had some work to do.

*

“This is an ingenious solution. How did you think of it, Kagami-kun?” Kuroko remarked, an impressed gleam in his eyes as Kagami just finished fastening the second crate to a telephone pole.

The first one was set up at another telephone pole a few metres away, mimicking the approximate distance between two hoops on a basketball court. Kuroko was holding the ladder for him, since yeah Taiga was tall and all, but in reality he still needed to jump if he wanted to dunk a basketball into the hoop.

“Ah, actually it was that Ahomine’s idea,” Kagami admitted as he stepped down from the ladder. He was frowning at the fact he couldn’t take the credit for an idea Kuroko was so earnestly praising. 

Kuroko hummed, as he stared up at their new ‘hoop’, “I see. Aomine-kun is quite practical, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, well. He gets a few good ideas every couple of months, so luck was on my side I guess,” Taiga says gruffly, ever the stickler when it came to giving compliments to Aomine. Even if the asshole wasn’t around to hear it, he really didn’t need anyone boosting his ego bigger than it already was.

“Anyway, time to test it out!” Taiga changes the subject, bouncing his own basketball a few times before driving up to the hoop. When he jumped, he felt that pleasant pull in his leg muscles and grinned as he threw the ball straight through the milk crate. It didn’t even graze the sides.

“That felt great! I forgot how much I loved shooting hoops!” Taiga cheered, spinning around to grin at Kuroko and pump his fist in the air. Kuroko’s eyes were wide with wonder, and Kagami felt like puffing his chest out a little but resisted. He wasn’t a show-off like that Ahomine.

“Seeing you shoot a basket in person is much different to viewing it on a screen,” Kuroko reported back to him hurriedly, stepping closer and practically buzzing with energy, “I think I prefer this much more.”

“Heh, thanks!” Taiga’s smile grew wider, his cheeks flushing faintly.

He was used to being praised on the court and heard a lot of people compliment him for the same things – his jumping, his dunks, whatever. But hearing it from Kuroko was different. Even if Taiga heard something along the same lines before, it meant more coming from Kuroko. Don’t ask him why, he didn’t really get it himself. All he knew was that it felt good and hoped he could do more things that would impress Kuroko.

“But now I wanna do the same and see how you do shooting hoops in real life!” Taiga threw the ball over to Kuroko, who caught it soundly.

“I’m afraid it won’t be anything too different to what you saw on the videos, Kagami-kun,” Kuroko told him, and yeah, Taiga remembered that Kuroko’s shooting skills left a lot to be desired.

“Yeah, maybe. But, that’s not the point! Show me what you got, right here and right now,” Taiga replied, moving out of the way of their makeshift hoop.

Kuroko stood still and silent for a few more moments, before he stepped forward closer and took his position. He lined up his aim, readied his stance, and took a shot…

…and it bounced off the milk crate, rolling along the ground back to Kuroko’s feet.

“Man, you really do suck at shooting, huh?” Kagami snorted, leaning down to retrieve the ball.

Crystal blue eyes narrowed at Taiga, “I’m aware, but do you have to be so blunt?”

“Says you!” Taiga bit back, less out of actual irritation and more of pure bantering.

Kuroko sighed, the disappointment at his attempt clear on his face, “For many years, it has been a critical weakness of mine in basketball. I would like to overcome it, but I do not know where to begin.”

“Maybe I can try and teach you a little,” Taiga answered, spinning the ball in his hands as he looked at the makeshift hoop. It wouldn’t be standard teaching, but that made it all the better – Taiga would rise to this challenge!

Meanwhile, Kuroko seemed caught between hope and disbelief as he looked at Taiga, “Really? Could you do such a thing, Kagami-kun?”

“Huh? Sure I can! I mean, I’m better at dunks, but like I told you before my outside shooting accuracy is 50/50, so I can still get a lot in!”

Sure, his 3-pointers weren’t on par with Aomine’s, but the day a basketball player thinks he has nothing to improve on is the day needs to step off the pro court. If you weren’t constantly evolving and learning new skills, you wouldn’t last two seconds against new, up and coming talent.

Kuroko turned to face him front on, and then bowed at Taiga as he said, “Then, I will be in your care.”

A triumphant gleam shines through Kagami’s eyes, and he lets out a short, happy laugh, “Alright! I’ll have you up to 50% accuracy at least by the time we’re done! I’m a tough teacher, so I hope you can keep up!”

“I will give it my all,” Kuroko answers boldly, straightening up, “Perhaps if I could observe Kagami-kun for a while I can get a feel for your general form?”

“Yeah, if that works for you. I’m more than happy to practice my shots!” Kagami bounced the ball up and down fluidly. Kuroko nodded and moved off to the side so he could observe.

*

A few days later in the week, after a productive afternoon of running through some basketball drills with Kuroko and practising their shooting together, they went back to Kuroko’s place to wind down and relax for a while. It was late in the afternoon, and the two of them were sitting on the front porch with a plate of juicy watermelon slices between them. Kuroko’s grandma was working on dinner, and despite Kagami’s offer of helping her out, she had shooed him away, adamant on not having their guest do the cooking.

“Oh, I almost forgot. I have something that I have been meaning to give to Kagami-kun,” Kuroko’s voice broke through the silent atmosphere easily, pleasantly. He had a weird ability of doing that, in a way that Taiga could never pull off. He was too boisterous, too loud.

“Huh? You do?” his voice was muffled around the watermelon in his mouth, and Kuroko nods as he sets his plate aside and stands up.

“Please excuse me for a moment, I will go and find it for you,” and just like that, he’s gone.

It’s still a little weird the way Kuroko pops up and disappears so suddenly, if Taiga so much as blinks he can miss him. Although, he’d admit he’s gotten kind of used to Kuroko’s presence. And in his defence, he only winces a little when he hears Kuroko plop down beside him again.

“Here,” Kuroko reached out his closed hand, and Kagami mimicked him, as Kuroko deposited the little gift into his palm.

Looking down, it took Taiga a second to realise what it was he was seeing. It was, from the looks of it, a [handmade bracelet](https://www.flickr.com/photos/182499414@N08/49321619177/) woven from red, black and white thread weaved into an arrow-like pattern.

“It’s a bracelet to signify our friendship,” Kuroko explains, pulling down his sleeve to reveal his slim forearm and wrist, which was adorned with the exact same bracelet Kagami now held in his hands, “look, Kagami-kun, they’re matching.”

“F-Friendship bracelets?” Taiga stuttered over his words, a little taken aback at such an…unexpectedly pure gesture.

Kuroko nodded, setting his arm back down in his lap, “Yes, that’s right. So, you know about them too.”

“Of course, I do! Isn’t this what kids do, or somethin’?” Taiga retorted with a hint of indignance.

Even if he wasn’t the sharpest crayon in the box, even he knew about friendship bracelets! Although, he only knew about them. Taiga had never actually…received one before. Well, he’d never given one either (unless his ring with Tatsuya sort of counted?), and he’d never given it much thought until now. It was at this point he realised how much Kuroko got him to think, how Kuroko made Taiga – without Taiga even realising it – think more broadly about a lot of things.

Unphased at Taiga’s brash response, Kuroko only blinks at him as he responds, “I don’t believe there’s an age restriction on it.”

Kagami feels like retorting something back, but he was coming up blank. So, instead he just stared down at the bracelet. It was intricately made with careful hands and deft fingers.

“Do you like it?” Kuroko’s voice drifted in, drawing Taiga out of his thoughts.

“Y-Yeah. It’s nice. I, uh, the colours are good,” Taiga fumbled for words that weren’t so clumsy, but he was simple guy through and through. Not like he was a poet or a writer or anythin’, but sometimes he wished he could be better. He’d thought it before, but even moreso after meeting Kuroko – who always had such a unique, special way with his words. Taiga frowned slightly, disappointed in himself that he couldn’t return the favour to Kuroko.

But Kuroko had endless patience for him and didn’t seem bothered in the slightest as a tiny smile crossed his lips, “I’m relieved. I picked them out specifically for Kagami-kun, and I’m quite fond of them myself.”

Kagami nods, and then brings his attention back to the bracelet. Deciding he should wear it to show Kuroko his gratitude or whatever, he tries to put it on himself. But his hands are big and clumsy, and he almost drops the bracelet a few times if not for his quick reflexes at catching it before it could hit the dirt. 

“Will you allow me to help?” Kuroko asked, not condescending or mocking, simply asking. His shoulder was pressing lightly against Taiga’s.

Taiga reflexively nods, stopping his awkward attempts before he made an idiot out of himself, “Sure, I guess.”

Kuroko places the bracelet over his wrist, then spins it around so the two ends are on top. He performs a difficult knot trick that Kagami wouldn’t be able to mimic for the life of him, and then he’s done. 

Taiga brings his wrist in front of his face, liking how the bracelet looks against his skin and the warm feeling he got from knowing Kuroko was wearing one (the same pattern and everything) too, “Thanks, Kuroko.”

Kuroko nods, accepting his gratitude, “You’re welcome. I should be the one to say thank you, though.”

“What?” Taiga looks away from the bracelet, surprised to find Kuroko already looking at him with a content aura surrounding him.

And he was not prepared for the soft smile on Kuroko’s face as he said, “Thank you for coming to Kamikatsu.”

Taiga’s arm falls back in his lap, feeling stunned at the sudden confession, “Huh? Where did that come from?”

“I don’t know. It’s just, today I realised how much livelier it is with Kagami-kun around. From practising basketball together, learning how to shoot properly, and even having Kagami-kun’s assistance when I’m working in the rice fields from time to time. After thinking about all that, the thought just came into my head,” Kuroko gazed out in front of them, at the orange and purple streaking through the sky and casting a warm, golden glow over everything.

When he turned back to look at Taiga, his heart wasn’t prepared for such a sincerely happy Kuroko-smile being directed only at him, “I’m really glad I met you, Kagami-kun.”

And then Taiga’s cheeks were burning. _Ugh, blushing! Damn it!_ He jerked his gaze to instead look at the sky, trying to ignore the way his heartbeat was quicker than it was a moment ago, “Sheesh! You’re always saying the most embarrassing things!”

“Do you think so?” Kuroko asked, unfazed as ever at his own forwardness.

“Anyway, I’m the one who’s grateful,” Taiga mumbled, his eyes inevitably trailing back to look at Kuroko, who was staring at him with that wide-eyed gaze. Calming his racing heart, Taiga knew he had to elaborate further for Kuroko to get what he was saying.

“I like it…when we hang out,” and Taiga felt like slamming his face against the nearest hard surface, _damn it_, he sounded so freaking _dumb_.

Soldiering on with his lame friendship confession, Taiga continued as best he could, “I dunno, I mean, it’s kinda hard to imagine being here without you around too, now. But I guess I’d be sorta lonely if we hadn’t met.”

There’s a moment, and it’s quiet and still, but it feels like so much is passing between him and Kuroko in that moment. Like Kuroko could understand him, even without words, and they could find comfort in the fact that they could be so honest with each other. It was a very open feeling…one that Taiga had never really felt before with anyone.

“Then, I’m happy that I can help Kagami-kun feel less lonely,” Kuroko says gently, with a smile to match. It makes Taiga’s chest spasm weirdly _(again, seriously what is up with that?),_ and then Kuroko adds, “Even though my presence is nowhere near as bright as yours, I hope that even I can bring people comfort. Even if it’s only small.”

“What’re you talkin’ about?” Taiga blurts out, drawing Kuroko’s gaze to him, “Yeah, we’re not the same. But everyone shines differently. You’re not as bright as me? Well, you’re bright in your own way.”

And then, Kuroko’s staring at him. He’s staring at Taiga in a way that makes him feel like he’s totally see-through, but…not in a bad way. It’s not a bad feeling, knowing that Kuroko can see him for who he is.

“Kagami-kun, that was surprisingly deep,” Kuroko remarks, quietly amused at his words.

“Sh-Shut up!” Taiga falters, agitated.

_Damn it,_ why are his palms all sweaty and gross? It’s so freaking uncomfortable, so he tucks his hands inside his pockets and rubs his palms against his short’s material.

“Thank you, I am truly grateful for hearing such words,” Kuroko, the brutally honest person he was, couldn’t fake sincerity like that. He was being genuine, and having his gratitude felt…nice. Taiga felt great knowing that he helped Kuroko in some way.

“No problem. Friends cheer each other on for the big things and the little things. Be there for each other, y’know?” Taiga reassured him, the bracelet sitting on his wrist now a visual reminder of those very words.

“Yes, I agree completely,” Kuroko kept up his smile, returning to his watermelon as Taiga did the same.

And yet, why did Kagami’s heart feel all shaken up? It wasn’t like he was sick or anything, so what gives?

Hopefully, he could find an answer to that soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so our Taiga's feelings are beginning to change - but he doesn't know that yet ;) you can definitely look forward to more cute moments in the next chapter, which I hope to have out as soon as I can. 
> 
> Also, the milk crate basketball hoops are really a thing! Just type 'milk crate basketball hoop' into google and you can check it out - they're pretty cool I think! 
> 
> Thank you all for your patience and support, and please take care and stay as safe as you can during these hard times wherever you are in the world! xo
> 
> \- Foamy ☆*。*.・

**Author's Note:**

> And you will see Kagami's reaction to Kuroko's skills in the next chapter! xD Thank you for reading! If you have a comment, I'd love to hear it ♥ and I always respond to them, so feel free to ask me any questions as well! Until next time, lovely readers!


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